Struck Down by the Gods

This book describes the different types of strokes; their cause, and the medical conditions often confused with stroke. Although primarily intended for the non-medical person who wants to know how to prevent stroke (and heart attacks), there is much that would be of benefit to all health care professionals. Atherosclerosis, the cause of virtually all heart attacks and a major cause of stroke, is the progressive accumulation throughout life of cholesterol beneath the inner lining of the hardened walls of our arteries. The book challenges the long-held belief that smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure are the cause of atherosclerosis. Although they make it worse, they cannot be the cause, simply because atherosclerosis occurs in the absence of these risk factors and, based on irrefutable autopsy evidence, commences decades before these risk factors appear, in some of us before we are born. Many other reasons for challenging these beliefs are revealed. The book contains interesting historical facts on the evolution of knowledge throughout the centuries since ancient times, explains the difference between absolute and relative risk and benefit, and the real cause of atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries). It explains what we as individuals can do to prevent stroke (and heart attack). It discusses the risk factors that identify those of us who are at increased risk of suffering a stroke (and heart attack), in particular smoking and obesity (and the obesogenic environment we live in), that greatly increase the risk. It makes a plea to the regulatory authorities to alter the way industry-funded research is conducted to provide greater certainty, in particular appointing independent data and safety monitoring committees and not allowing the industry to claim confidentiality over the study data. Finally, it makes a plea to publishers to have a clear statement on the front page stating that this study is/is not funded by industry, to ensure that all papers discuss relative (the benefit to society) and absolute (the benefit to us as an individual) risk increase and reduction, the numbers needed to treat and an economic analysis of the cost benefit. A controversial recommendation is that when a known treatment exists, any new treatment to be compared to that treatment and not to a placebo. The reasons behind these pleas are discussed in the book