{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Hard Drugs","title":"Should everyone be taking statins?","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/b19b3b4a\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":10487,"description":"Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, but it’s also one of medicine’s biggest success stories. Since the 1950s, the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease has fallen dramatically, thanks to public health efforts, emergency care, medical innovation, and surgeries.In this episode, Jacob and Saloni explore the cholesterol revolution: from statins discovered in fungi to new drugs that cut LDL cholesterol by 60% and last for months, driven by breakthroughs in genetics, monoclonal antibodies, RNA therapies, and modern medicinal chemistry. They talk about how cholesterol travels through the bloodstream, how it causes atherosclerosis and heart disease, and why it took nearly a century for scientists to form the consensus that lowering cholesterol saves lives.Hard Drugs is a podcast from Works in Progress and Coefficient Giving about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.You can watch or listen on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.Chapters: 0:00:00 Introduction13:35 The decline in heart disease mortality31:02 Surprising facts about cholesterol55:40 The lipid hypothesis: 7 lines of evidence for the harms of LDL cholesterol1:22:15 How cholesterol works1:30:40 The discovery of statins1:48:44 Should everyone be on statins?1:57:10 PCSK9 drugs and beyond2:22:56 Summary Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/ Acknowledgements:Aria Babu, editor at Works in ProgressGraham Bessellieu, video editorAbhishaike Mahajan, cover artAtalanta Arden-Miller, art directionDavid Hackett, composerWorks in Progress & Coefficient GivingCorrection: In the episode, Saloni makes an error in converting the number of heartbeats per lifetime. It is roughly 2.5 billion beats, not a trillion.BooksDaniel Steinberg (2007) The Cholesterol Wars.Jie Jack Li (2009) Triumph of the Heart: The Story of Statins.Blog postsJames Stein (2025) Lipid and lipoprotein basics series....","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/bBbAA3-An3hw3uv_Sf647ZQV-IpESOooEROiyEp4Ytg/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS81MzM2/YTc5NmRlZGI2Zjhi/YWM2ZDk4MzBhZjg4/YTRjMi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}