Battling Heart and Stroke

Red yeast extract also know as Xuezhikang or XZK for short, has been the subject of great controversy. Is it or is not good for cardiovascular health?

On August 9, 2007, the US FDA issued a warning to consumers against the use of red yeast rice products in the treatment of high blood cholesterol. These products which are sold as nutritional supplements (and therefore bought over-the-counter (OTC)) contain lovastatin, the active ingredient of anti-cholesterol prescription drugs such as Mevacor.

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Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a revision of a policy statement from 1 January 1998 regarding lipid screening in children.

The new guidelines recommend early cholesterol screening of children and adolescents with a family history of high cholesterol or cardiovascular disease as well as children who are significantly overweight. Lipid screening should start as early as 2 years old, should be repeated 3 to 5 years later, and shouldn’t be put off beyond the 10^th year of a child’s life.

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Instead of featuring a heart(y) celebrity this month, I would like to pay my respects to Tim Russert of NBC.

I was travelling around Western Europe when I heard of his unexpected death. Even here in the old continent, his name and face was known, especially among the English-speaking community. Russert was a respected political journalist whose opinion carried a lot of weight in the political scene.

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