Description: Statins, the best-selling drugs in the United States, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and decrease blood vessel inflammation to decrease the risk of heart disease in certain people. The top selling statin drugs are Lipitor, Mevacor and Pravachol. People with heart disease benefit from taking these drugs, but there is controversy about the use of statins by people who simply have high cholesterol. There is also controversy about the prescribing of 80 mg of Lipitor (rather than lower doses) that Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, appears to be recommending.

The actual benefit of using statin drugs, including Lipitor, may surprise you. While the benefit of statin drugs for people with heart disease is proven, according to Dr. John Abramson and Dr. James Wright, if 50 men who are at high risk of developing heart disease take the drug every day for five years, just one man will avoid a heart attack or heart-related death.

One out of 50 men avoiding a heart attack, or death, over a five-ye