A recent study released by American researchers found that for patients with stable heart disease, stents may not be needed, and patients do as well with lifestyle modification and medications (Stents no better than drugs: Study, Nov 18).

In fact, there are indications that complications from stents may be even higher, not to mention the cost incurred with many such patients ending up with stents.

It has to be noted that statins feature primarily among the drugs needed to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and statins are still the drugs of choice for treatment when your blood has too many lipids (or fats) such as cholesterol and triglycerides.

Statins are also the main treatment for lowering the risk of heart attacks and death.

A recent release of guidelines by the European Society of Cardiology in fact recommends that for high-risk patients, the lower the LDL the better the result.

Patients who are in the high-risk category need to have their LDL lowered significantly.

What is troubling is that there is a general reluctance among patients to start taking statins.

This is in large part due to the spread of fake and distorted medical news on the Internet.

Cardiologists in the United States have highlighted this problem also, and they have encountered an increase in the number of deaths and complications for those who refused to take medications (primarily statins) to reduce their risk of complications.

I hope patients will take note of evidence-based studies and not be convinced by false reports that are not helpful for their long-term health.

Quek Koh Choon (Dr)