Vytorin is a combination drug containing the statin drug Zocor and the drug Zetia, which blocks cholesterol absorption. Many doctors have been convinced that Vytorin is the Cadillac of cholesterol-lowering drugs and they happily relay this information to their patients. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this from patients. Now, there are a number of BIG problems that have arisen from a study showing the ineffectiveness of Vytorin! The most disturbing is how this study was released to the public. In just a moment, I will go into detail about the specifics regarding how Merck withheld publishing the results of this study for almost 2 years! This is going to anger you; and, rightfully so.

However, the other big problem that I guarantee you will be ignored is that the group who had the lowest “bad” cholesterol also had the highest amount of heart attacks. But, wait a second. How can this be when we know that lower cholesterol equates with a lower risk of heart disease? That is a wonderful question to ask your doctor.

When I challenge doctors to give me just one study showing the benefits of using a statin drug, like Vytorin, on the reduction of cardiovascular events, they always fall back to studies showing a benefit with lower LDL “bad” cholesterol. However, Vytorin reduced cholesterol 40% more than did the statin drug Zocor alone. Let that sink in for a moment. Doctors believe that the lower the LDL the better. They take out their pom-poms and cheer when a patient’s blood results show a low LDL. The Vytorin group had a 40% lower LDL but had more heart attacks and more build-up of arterial plaque. OOPPS!! This doesn’t jive with the currently unquestionable belief that low LDL is good. So, what have doctors done with this information? If you said they have ignored it, you are right. The attitude is to don’t look at it and maybe it will go away. Then they can go on believing what they have been told time and time again that lowering LDL prevents heart attacks.

Now, I have already heard the damage control pharmaceutical rhetoric trying to explain why Vytorin failed so miserably. It is like they perform the Jedi mind trick (Star Wars fans understand that reference) on the medical community every time something bad comes out about a drug. “That was not a bad study about our drug…It was poorly done and is not worth your consideration.” Obi-Wan would be proud!

The real scandal with the Vytorin study was not that the medical community rushed to ignore the fact that the people with lower LDL “bad” cholesterol had worse outcomes. The real scandal was that this study was completed almost 2 years prior to its release in January of 2008! Merck only released the study after being threatened with Congressional hearings and because of consumer pressure after it was found out that the study results were being withheld. They knew that the results of this study were going to devastate the profits of their blockbuster drug Vytorin. So, they let doctors enthusiastically prescribe this junk drug for almost 2 full years in order to preserve their profits. And, they made BILLIONS! The biggest travesty is that they will not have to face any meaningful consequences for their deceit. If this does not make you angry, I would venture to say that you do not have a pulse.

I understand it when people say that I am too anti-pharmaceutical. This perception is built because of my harsh criticism of how pharmaceutical drugs are pushed upon our doctors and on us through misleading television ads. I cannot communicate to you enough that I am not against the use of prescription drugs. I am against the mindless use of prescription drugs. I am against the unquestioned allegiance by doctors to an industry that has proven over and over again that they will, without conscious, put patient’s health on the back burner to their making of a profit.

But what good does it do to get mad? You cannot change the way medicine is practiced by just getting mad. I agree. But, by getting mad you can accomplish two things. First, the anger with how the pharmaceutical companies put profit in front of safety makes you realize that you cannot accept anything they say at face value. If you have a good friend who continues to lie to you, would you blindly believe anything they tell you? No, you would be wary of anything they said that you could not personally verify. The second benefit is that you break the hypnotic state that you have been put under to not question what your doctor prescribes to you. Let us go back to your friend who you know would lie to their mother for their own benefit. If a person tells you to do something and you find out that they got their information from your friend who lies, would you just do it? You would most certainly question them because you know that they got their information from someone who could not be trusted.

Your doctor gets all of their information from the pharmaceutical industry. Do you still feel comfortable blindly accepting what your doctor tells you? The time of blindly accepting anything your doctor tells you to do has come and gone. If you do not become an informed consumer of health care, you are putting yourself and your family in danger. Worse yet, you are ultimately putting your trust in the pharmaceutical industry. Now, that is scary!