STEMI vs NSTEMI: Key Differences Explained

When I teach medical students, residents, fellows, and practicing cardiologists at conferences, one topic always comes up early: what is the real difference between a STEMI and an NSTEMI, and why does it matter? The answer is straightforward but absolutely...

Lipoprotein(a): The "Hidden" Genetic Cholesterol That Could Be Putting You at Risk

What is lipoprotein a and what can we do about it? One of the most common topics and questions I get at medical conferences is, "Can you tell us more about lipoprotein little a?"  

What is my life expectancy with li...

Are Lean Mass Hyper Responders At Higher Risk For Heart Disease?

There is this movement online where people who eat very low carb, eat mostly meat and fat, including saturated fat, think that they cannot get heart disease because they are “metabolically healthy”. They define this as having high HDL...

Does Inflammation Cause Heart Disease?

Why do people think inflammation causes heart disease? Even though there is no solid evidence of this?

In the 1970s, there was this theory that cholesterol only came to the arteries to patch up damaged artery walls. The theory was that you must have damage fi...

Do Statins Cause Diabetes?

It’s complicated. It depends on what you mean by “causes diabetes”. There’s a lot of nuance. Please read the entire article.

If you already have pre-existing insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, and or diabetes, you are at a slightly increased risk of developing, or worseni...

HDL Cholesterol Is Not Protective Or Is It?

Another common misconception that needs to go away is that “HDL cholesterol is protective”. While HDL particles are involved in removing cholesterol from our arteries, the levels of HDL-C are not related to, nor indicative of any of the numerous functions...

Supplements To Lower Cholesterol?

This is a great question that was answered by a team of researchers at the Cleveland Clinic in a trial or study called the Sport Study.

The Cleveland Clinic did such a study on supplements that were thought to lower cholesterol. They were all third party tested an...

What Is LDL Cholesterol And Is It Dangerous?

The most common question I am asked on social media is about LDL cholesterol. This molecule is the most studied molecule in all of medicine. We spend billions of dollars studying LDL cholesterol and LDL particles, because they have been shown to cause he...

Non-HDL Cholesterol: What It Is and Normal Levels

 If you have ever looked at your cholesterol panel and noticed a number called non-HDL cholesterol, you might have wondered what it means and why your doctor cares about it. In many ways, non-HDL cholesterol is a more complete picture of your card...

Does Low Cholesterol Or Statin Medications Cause Cancer?

This is a great question! I have to answer this every day with my patients and on social media. Fortunately, this has been studied extensively and we have the answers.

Statins actually reduce the risk of all forms cancer.

A very well done s...