The public does not understand the true nature of mental disorders. This can produce fear because people do not know how to react if someone around them has an attack or because they think they may also be at risk of the same disorder. Prejudice and cruelty are the result. These reactions amplify the problem for the victims. If the disabled know that people will mock or criticise them if they have an anxiety or panic attack, they are more likely to avoid situations in which there may be stress. Carry this one step further and it becomes agoraphobia where they are too frightened to leave the house at all.

There are millions of people who suffer from anxiety and panic disorders, whether on their own or as a depression. To continue their everyday lives, they rely on xanax. Let us make a clear distinction. This is not like appearing on American Idol where contestants willingly risk humiliation to search for fame and fortune This is mundane existence: get through the door and drive to work to earn enough to live on. If that paycheck does not come at the end of the month, this is financial disaster. The advantage of xanax is that sufferers simply take a pill three or four times a day and this controls the more obvious symptoms. They can then walk around, doing their jobs with no-one any the wiser.

This points to another aspect of the problem. No-one likes to talk about these disorders. Even doctors have a reputation for being less than supportive so looking for treatment becomes more stressful. There is always the feeling that patients are being judged when they talk to others about how they feel. Research suggests that about 20% of people with anxiety and panic disorders do not get help, but buy xanax through the internet without first discussing the problems with a doctor. While this is understandable, it is not necessarily wise. Therapy and counselling are the most reliable long-term “cures”. Xanax simply keeps the symptoms at bay and should only be used over short periods of time.

But fear can affect people in another way. Even though they may eventually accept the need to get treatment, they may also fear what the medications will do to their bodies. Anxiety and panic are not necessarily “rational”. No matter what evidence they may read or hear about safety, even the slightest risk of side effects can seem daunting. Do we trust what our doctor tells us? Do we think the drug companies are completely honest about all the risks? The fact that the more obvious symptoms of anxiety and panic can be controlled in 70% of patients within the first two or three weeks of starting a course of xanax simply leaves people worrying about what happened to the other 30%. The explanation is that it takes time and patience to follow a course of treatment and this allows people to fall prey to their anxieties. Many simply stop taking the medication or take it too infrequently for it to work well. Prejudice in all of us can perpetuate anxiety and panic disorders.

Now, by gosh, you’ve reached the heart of the matter: Lipitor.

In the past half century, literally hundreds of well - run scientific studies, run by thousands of different researchers in dozens of different countries have shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that having high cholesterol — specifically, high levels of LDLs (low - density lipoproteins) — is a strong warning that you may be meeting Mr. Heart Disease and Ms. Heart Attack in your future.

At the same time, hundreds of other studies have shown that you can control your cholesterol and thereby reduce your risk of heart attack.

What you eat and drink plays an important role in controlling your cholesterol as I explain in Parts II and III. So does maintaining a healthful weight — also in Part II. Exercise, discussed in Post 8, is a plus. So is a tobacco - free lifestyle (see Post 9). And if all else fails, new cholesterol - lowering medications, discussed in Post 12, offer yet another option. Each of these methods for lowering your cholesterol — diet, weight control, exercise, and medicines — has its own post (or two or three) in this website. As a health - conscious consumer, you get to pick and choose among them — like a gourmet at a gorgeous buffet table. A low - fat, low - cholesterol buffet table, of course.

WHO statisticians have counted up the cases of CVD and CHD in 35 countries as diverse as the Russian Federation, which ranks Number One in cases of heart disease per 100,000 people (for both sexes), New Zealand (11th among men, 15th among women), and Japan (35th among men, 34th among women). Every time, believe it or not, heart attacks were the most prevalent form of cardiovascular disease. The United States (17th among men, 15th among women) is no exception.

Figure 1 - 2 contains a pie chart. It didn’t take a brain surgeon (or should I say heart surgeon) to come up with that name — it’s round and the segments look like slices of pie. No, it isn’t any particularly kind of pie, but hey, apples are heart - healthy food, so I’ll call it an apple pie chart. My apple - pie heart chart shows the percentage of deaths from different kinds of cardiovascular disease in the United States for 1997. As you can see, most Americans who die from heart disease die of a heart attack.

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics.

Coronary artery disease (CAO) or coronary heart disease {CHD) means ‘conditions affect - ing the heart and its major blood vessels,” — heart attack and angina pectoris (chest pain due to narrowed blood vessels).

Myocardial infarction [myo = muscle, cardio = heart, infarction = blockage) is the formal name for a heart attack. The name pretty much describes what happens, but you can read all the truly excruciating details in Post 2.

For more information about heart disease (and healthy hearts too, if you’re interested in that sort of thing), check out 77re Healthy Heart For Patients (Wiley Publishing, Inc.).

Heart disease Versus everything else

First things first. Table 1 - 1 lists the five leading causes of death in the United States. Table 1 - 2 lists the five leading causes of death in Canada. See what’s in first place? Note: In both countries, stroke,

a form of cardiovascular disease, is counted as a separate category.

Right ventricle

As you can see, blood that has deposited oxygen and other nutrients throughout your body comes back to your heart. Here’s the rundown on what happens when it gets there:

1. The blood enters your heart at the superior vena cava, a large vein that opens into the right atrium, the first chamber of your heart

2. From the right atrium, blood spills down through a one - way “trapdoor” called the tricuspid valve and into the right ventricle.

3. When the right ventricle contracts (squeezes together), the blood is sent out of your heart through the pulmonary artery and into your lungs where it picks up a plentiful supply of oxygen.

4. The newly oxygenated blood flows back into your heart through the pulmonary vein into the left atrium. Then the blood spills down through a second one - way trapdoor called the mitral valve and into the left ventricle.

5. When the left ventricle contracts, blood is pushed up through the large artery called the aorta and out into your body.

In real life, as opposed to a drawing, all four chambers of the heart contract simultaneously. The right atrium and the left atrium receive blood simultaneously from the vena cava and the pulmonary vein respectively. The right and the left atria (plural for atrium) contract simultaneously to send blood down through the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve respectively. And the right and left ventricles contract simultaneously to push blood up into the pulmonary artery and the aorta respectively. All this without missing a beat. Hey, I told you this was spectacular organ!

1 You’ve been told by your doctor that your cholesterol levels are not up to par, and you have to do something about it.

2 You’ve heard all the talk about high lipitor in recent years and you want to find out what all the fuss is about.

3 You routinely buy every For Patients website that hits the shelf, and this one is next on your list.

4 You’re a health - conscious individual.

5 You’re concerned about heart disease, and controlling the ol’ choles

terol levels has become very important to you.

I’ve also assumed that you don’t have a level of health - related knowledge to rival the U.S. Surgeon General’s. If this assumption is correct, you’ve come to the right place. Easy - to - follow explanations are a hallmark of this website. But if you approach the subject of controlling Lipitor with some information already tucked away in that brain of yours, don’t worry — I’ve included plenty of info in this website for you as well.

When you find information about the nutrient content of brand - name products in this website, you can assume that what you’re reading was right when I wrote it. But here’s the catch: Sometimes products change practically overnight. So use the numbers here as a guide, but be sure to check the product label when you shop. As poker players like to say, “Trust your friends — but cut the cards.”

My goal with this website is to lay out the reasons why it makes sense to control your lipitor and then present reasonable and moderate strategies to help you reach your goal.

Some of the information, like how to translate the cholesterol numbers you get on your annual physical, is baby simple. Other stuff, such as guidelines you can use to determine whether you’re a candidate for a heart attack — or for Lipitor - lowering medication — is more complex. Throughout this website, the emphasis is on the idea that (here comes another catchy slogan) “Knowledge is power.” In this case, it’s the power to lower your Lipitor and reduce your risk of heart attack.