Andrew
I have been given information to the effect that statins can *cause*
arrhythmias in some people.
And on "regardless of causality" side effects for Lipitor:

I have been taking Prilosec for 5 years for gastroensophageal reflux.
Works great. No heartburn, day or night.
6 months after I started taking Zocor, 40mg, I am suddenly
experiencing bad heartburn, even while taking the Prilosec.

I've seen several references lately to a new cholesterol test protocol.  For
instance,
"A bad cholesterol profile, measured using a new test considered better than
the standard one that looks at the balance between good HDL cholesterol and

Can the doctor tell just by litening if there is a valve problem? He
listend to my heart and considered doing an ultrsound but saw I had
one 5 years ago and decided to have me to the 24 hour monitor and
stress test instead which were fine.

Book recommendation:
"Overdo$ed America; The broken promise of American Medicine.  How the
Pharmaceutical Companies Distort Medical Knowledge, Mislead Doctors,
and Compromise Your Health"  by John Abramson, family practitioner

The BP medication Lisinopril is causing my hair to fall out.  Are there
any BP medications that are less likely to cause hair loss?

...can take the time from their busy practices to read, and respond to 6
usenet postings at 11 am on a Monday morning?
We are all truly blessed here by the presence of OCD Chung (despite the fact
that not one of this morning's postings was related to cardiology, but at

"Madness is not a consequence of uncertainty, but of certainty."
Nietzche
Bob

Any comments?

Doctor piut me on Lipitor a few weeks ago, I developed side effects,
diahrea, muscle aches,
He now wants me to take Pravachol, Are there any side effects to this
as well ?

I have been having svt's and some unexplainable heart problems. I am
the type that never likes to quit and am afraid I will stay ont he
treadmill too long and have a problem.
I used to exercise religiously until 6 months ago. I went to walk on

I have written about the problems I am having before. I am wearing
another 24 hour monitor today and tomorrow I go for a stress test
without the dye. WHy would they do a test on me without the dye? What
does a regular test without the dye show?

Several times there have been threads in scm discussing measures of
obesity and heart risk.  The Body Mass Index seems to be widely used.  I
have noted that BMI does not account for body type.  A September 12,
2004 article by Tedd Mitchell, MD, in USA Weekend discusses this issue

Eur J Nutr. 2004 Sep 3 [Epub ahead of print] Related Articles, Links  
A decrease in iron status in young healthy women after long-term daily
consumption of the recommended intake of fibre-rich wheat bread.
Bach Kristensen M, Tetens I, Alstrup Jorgensen AB, Dal Thomsen A, Milman N,

I'd like some discussion on Z-Pak and erythromycin as it relates to heart
attacks.
  Is it the Erythromycin itself that causes heart attacks, or is it the
interaction between it and some other medication?