niacin

By now you’ve heard that niacin is no longer recommended for reducing heart attacks and strokes. After 50 years of being a mainstay cholesterol therapy, niacin should no longer be prescribed for most patients due to potential increased risk of death, dangerous side effects and no benefit in reducing heart attacks and strokes, writes Northwestern Medicine® preventive cardiologist Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D., in a New England Journal of Medicine editorial published July 16. The study is no doubt controversial among physicians who rely on niacin for cardiovascular patients. Read the slideshow for a review of the study.