New national heart health guidelines may give pause to some Northeast Ohioans making preparations for a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast. The American College of Cardiology in association with the American Heart Association recently released new recommendations that would dramatically boost the number of people who take cholesterol-reducing statin drugs. Noted Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Steven Nissen calls it a “tectonic shift” in heart care, and that shift has produced an earthquake in the medical community. While some praise the guidelines as long overdue, others claim they are too severe. We’ll spend this hour, looking at the larger issue of heart health, the difference between good cholesterol and bad, what statins actually do, and who should take them.
Join us with your questions and your thoughts on maintaining a healthy heart.
Dr. Sidney Smith, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Science and Medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Dr. Steven Nissen, chair of cardiovascular medicine, Cleveland Clinic
Dr. Shyam Bhakta, cardiologist, Akron General Health System
