Trump has cholesterol problems (NYT)

[molova]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/us/politics/donald-trump-health-dr-oz.html

This is not good due to his old age and obesity.

[rurallib]

1. he also has financial entanglements with bad foreign groups and characters

but that is not being covered. his bullshit health report is the big story.

This is not a shot at you, but at the media.

[virgogal]

2. I'm old-----lots of us are on statins.

[PJMcK]

10. But you're not running for president (n/t)

[onenote]

16. Per the AHA, essentially every male over 60 should be taken statins

A view shared by the American College of Cardiology. And the CDC

Try educating yourself before playing doctor or stigmatizing a medical course followed by millions of people.

[molova]

21. Link to AHA's recommendation, please

Thanks.

[CajunBlazer]

38. That's not an established principle

I am over 60 and my cholesterol counts - both for Low-density lipoproteins (LDL - are sometimes called “bad” cholesterol) and High levels of (LDL -“good” cholesterol) are in the very good range. My Internist is certainly not prescribing cholesterol lowering drugs for me, and I would have seriously questioned her if she had.

I have found no such recommendations on the AHA website. See link:

http://news.heart.org/aha-guidelines-resource-center/

Whether statins are helpful for healthy people has not been established: See link:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/statins-should-healthy-adults-over-50-take-them/

Excerpts from that article:

Although a meta-analysis of statins suggests that healthy people over 50 take cholesterol-lowering drugs as a preventative measure, some researchers argue the benefits may not outweigh the risks

Everyone over 50 should take statins to lower their cholesterol, an editorial argued last week in The Lancet. The piece based its recommendation on a meta-analysis of 27 clinical trials published in the same issue that concluded statins significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular events in healthy people without posing substantial risks. Subsequent articles heralding the meta-analysis's findings were published in the Guardian, Forbes and the U.K. Telegraph. But based on the numbers, many experts still aren't convinced that the drugs' benefits outweigh their risks.

There's no question that statins save lives when they are prescribed to people with cardiovascular disease. But whether the drugs should also be given to healthy people who do not have high cholesterol or other cardiovascular risk factors has been a long-standing and controversial question. One large clinical trial known as JUPITER reported in 2008 that rosuvastatin (Crestor) lowers the risk of heart attacks and other events by 44 percent in healthy subjects but experts have since raised questions about its methodology in part because the trial was stopped early, which might have created the effect of overestimating the drug's benefits. The current meta-analysis was designed to help put the issue to rest. "Our aim was to bring together all the available evidence," explains co-author Colin Baigent, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford in England.

(snip)

[niyad]

15. to be fair, the OP is referencing a piece in the nyt.

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. Did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

[BP2]

5. 28% of Americans over 40 take Statins, and nearly 40% are obese.

I'd hit Rump over his taxes, not his weight or cholesterol. My .02.

[cwydro]

22. This is a very sad statistic.

[anoNY42]

26. It's not that bad

when you consider that the reason is that we are a rich nation that does not need a lot of people toiling in the fields anymore.

I would take my current over-weight body over a job cutting wheat with a scythe any day...

[cwydro]

32. I work at a desk, but my health is important to me.

I've been a runner for over 30 years.

Not everyone wants to run, but there are a lot of ways to keep fit.

And don't knock scything if you haven't tried it lol.

[anoNY42]

33. Heh, you're right, I have not tried scything!

I am just assuming I would not want to do it all day.

[mainer]

30. sad indeed

It's even sadder that ill health is so normalized that many here are fine with a third of men taking a pill that has some serious side effects. Because, "hey I'm on that pill too so it can't be that much of a problem!"

[cwydro]

31. I agree.

[liberal N proud]

6. I think his health is not very good

And that is why they are attacking Hillary for her health. They are trying to knock her down so his health doesn't become an issue.

If he were a specimen of perfect health as dr. oz and the other quack claim, he would have submitted a full report to hold over any concerns they have exploited. But they are being far more secretive then they are blasting Hillary for.

[onehandle]

7. The orange skin condition that they even out with orange makeup concerns me more.

Pretty sure he's close to the end.

[Oldem]

8. Probably,

as, at 78, I do. It may be the orange monster has jaundice, too. (I don't.)

[niyad]

14. welcome to du

[Maru Kitteh]

20. Huh. Interesting angle there.

I've been observing the texture of his skin and thinking NAFLD. The spray tanning would help mask that. Huh.

You've given me more to think about. Thanks!

[Sanity Claws]

27. Nafld?

Please explain.

[niyad]

35. possibly this:

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-alcoholic_fatty_liver_disease
Wikipedia
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the causes of fatty liver, occurring when fat is deposited (steatosis) in the liver due to causes other than excessive alcohol use. NAFLD is the most common liver disorder in developed countries.

[RonniePudding]

9. What's "not good" about it?

The unhealthier he is, the better IMO.

[PJMcK]

11. It's neither his age nor his obesity that concerns me

It's his ideas and behavior that make Donald Trump a danger to humanity.

[moonscape]

12. Exactly. + a million ... n/t

[RKP5637]

29. Yep! Definitely! n/t

[niyad]

13. it took a supposed medical exam to let us know he is overweight, nyt???

[HipChick]

17. I wonder what tipped them off

[mainer]

18. Even more important, his BMI is 30.3

He is officially obese.
Add that to his elevated cholesterol, and he is definitely not in excellent health.

I don't care if half of American men are on statins and are obese. That doesn't make him healthy, just because the rest of America is sick.

And yes, I AM an MD.

[cwydro]

23. Thank you.

I find it amazing that posters think it's ok to be obese just because so many others are.

[Maru Kitteh]

19. NO. The real problem is he won't reveal when/why he was put on statins,

his numbers pre-treatment, whether or not he has had any cardiac incidents, angina, stents, angioplasty, etc.

There are probably THOUSANDS of young people (18-35) walking around right now that have hyperlipidemia and don't know it, and probably should be on a statin like Drumph.

[lillypaddle]

24. I've been on a statin

since I was 55, and I'm now 68. I'd venture to say that a vast majority of people over 50 are on a statin, unless they can't tolerate the side effects.

[trof]

37. Yep. I'm 75. Been taking atorvastatin for over 20 years.

[yellowcanine]

25. Statins are controversial and probably over prescribed.

Trump may or may not need to take them and they may or may not be of benefit. At the least, it would be better if he were actually consulting with a cardiologist rather than having a doctor prescribe them who is not a specialist in the area. His weight and lack of regular exercise are probably the bigger concerns rather than his cholesterol levels. Statins are not a silver bullet.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2013/11/controversy-over-cholesterol-lowering-statin-use/

[Dem2]

28. Me too.

Is this the latest "shiny object" that we should be focusing on?

Are we no better/smarter than the media? (don't answer that )

[B2G]

36. I know, right?

Hillary is supposedly relatable because she got pneumonia, but Trump isn't because he's on statins...like half of the rest of the country.

We just need to stop this BS and move on to the real issues.

[CajunBlazer]

39. I think people are getting overly defensive because of the statin issue

They are feeling like pointing out that Trump is grossly over weight, doesn't exercise, and has high cholesterol counts, all put him substantially more at risk of having a heart attack or stroke, is somehow an attack on them.

But remember this Trump is running to be President of the United States, the people on DU who may have one or more of these conditions are not. The American people have a very legitimate interest in the health conditions of both candidates. So Trump's health problems are a legitimate issue, especially since he has been disingenuously harping on Hillary's lack of stamina - playing to the underlying concerns of some people that a woman may not be strong enough to do the job.

If anyone on DU has the same kind of health issues, I wish them all the best in bringing them under control because, untreated, they can be deadly. But they shouldn't expect other people to hold back criticizing Trump because somehow they feel solidarity with Trump on this issue.

[Sunlei]

34. many older Americans have the same including many Rs and Ds.