Rejecting view preached for centuries
I GRADUATED from medical school in 2009, and for the past nine years, I’ve been taught repeatedly about coronary artery disease. In med school, we were always told that “common things occur commonly”, and, unfortunately, coronary artery disease is one of them.
Given the knowledge bestowed upon me by my professors and continued reading, I believe that statins and aspirin are an integral part of treating and preventing coronary artery disease.
I am shocked at what Tim Noakes is publishing, and am very worried about the consequences and repercussions of his words. Coronary artery disease is due to the development of fatty material, calcium and scar tissue building up in arteries supplying the heart. This, in turn, causes a blockage, thus affecting oxygen supply and other nutrients needed to maintain healthy cardiac function. The scar tissue, or plaque, narrows the arteries, thereby inhibiting oxygen supply and slowing blood flow.
As a child, the inner lining of your cardiac vessels is smooth and hence ensures optimal blood supply, but as a person gets older, the contents in these arteries increases, making them thicker and less elastic. Unhealthy habits such as a high cholesterol diet cause an accumulation of fat and calcium within the lining of the arteries. This process is known as atherosclerosis: hardening of the arteries. The accumulated deposits within the vessel restrict blood flow.
The plaque is often described as a firm shell with a soft inner coat containing cholesterol which cracks open. This then promotes blood clotting. Blood flow is reduced even more and the blockage gets worse.
Treatment of this condition entails balancing the blood supply to the heart and preventing the onset of this disease. Aspirin reduces the risk as it reduces the tendency of our blood to clot. It prevents the plaque from rupturing. Statins reduce the amount of cholesterol in our blood. They alter the inner lining of the vessels, preventing plaque formation.
For years now, there has been extensive research by renowned cardiologists about the benefits of statins and aspirin. How then does Tim Noakes preach the very opposite? He is going against medicine that has been practised for centuries. Based on what? DR NATASHA DOLE
Cape Town