Most of us probably take fever lowering drugs, like paracetamol (a.k.a. acetaminophen, tylenol, panadol, alvedon), aspirin, or ibuprofen (a.k.a. advil, motrin, ipren), when we get a high temperature. The technical term for these drugs is antipyretics. After half an hour or so, we start to feel better and maybe don’t have to spend the whole day in bed. But it is well understood among researchers … Read more
Category: Medications
How aggressively should high blood pressure be treated?
If you take blood pressure medications you probably have some interest in following your own blood pressure. But what many people don’t know is what target blood pressure they should be aiming for. If your blood pressure after treatment is 140/85, say, is that good or bad?
The SPRINT trial (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) set out to answer that question. It was funded by … Read more
Do statins save lives?
Ok, it’s a silly question I admit. As any physician, and anyone else who thinks about it for a few seconds knows, there is no such thing as saving lives. You can only postpone death. So a more nuanced question is required: “Do statins postpone death?”. My mother sure thinks they do, since she’s been popping an atorvastatin a day for the last couple of … Read more