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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Health & Science

Doctor and Trump reportedly take the same “maintenance medicine”: Why cholesterol deserves attention now

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources New plan
  • Taiwanese doctor Yang Gyeong-sam said physicians across generations at a recent gathering reported taking cholesterol-lowering medication, which he described as a form of preventive care.
  • He cited Donald Trump’s reported LDL-C level of 51 and argued that starting cholesterol control early can reduce long-term cardiovascular risk.
  • Taiwan’s health insurance coverage for cholesterol treatment is due to align with international standards from September, with treatment based on individual risk factors.

At a gathering of doctors, Yang Gyeong-sam said he was surprised to find senior professors and younger physicians alike taking the same kind of cholesterol-lowering medication. The director of Liang Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic presented the drugs as unusually close to a “maintenance medicine” for protecting cardiovascular health.

Yang pointed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s health reports as another example. Trump is known for eating hamburgers, soft drinks and fast food, which are often viewed as unfavorable for heart health, yet his reported LDL-C, or bad cholesterol, level stands at 51 after medication control, Yang said.

Western medicine has not traditionally believed much in maintenance medicines, has it?

— Yang Gyeong-samYang introduced the apparent contradiction between physicians’ scientific skepticism and their own use of cholesterol-lowering medication.

Yang also cited Harvard Medical School physician Eugene Braunwald’s article, “How to live to 100 before developing clinical coronary artery disease: a suggestion.” The article’s message, he said, is that cholesterol management involves more than lowering a current number. Starting early may reduce the amount of LDL-C that accumulates in artery walls over time and may lower the chance of cardiovascular disease, heart disease and myocardial infarction.

The goal is to live healthily to 100 without having to face heart disease.

— Yang Gyeong-samHe described the shared goal he attributed to the doctors taking the medication.

He described this as thinking about “bad cholesterol multiplied by age.” Earlier guidance used 8,000 as a reference point, while current thinking favors staying below 7,000, he said. Several senior professors at the gathering told younger doctors that they had taken cholesterol-lowering drugs for years, with LDL-C levels in the 30s to 50s, without noticing cognitive problems. Yang said newborn LDL-C levels are usually in the 20s, below 30.

Taiwan’s National Health Insurance coverage for cholesterol treatment will be brought closer to international standards from September, according to Yang. Doctors will classify patients as low, moderate, high, very high or extremely high risk before deciding on treatment. Yang urged people, especially those with family histories of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or stroke, to get blood tests and discuss treatment with a doctor.

I wish everyone a healthy life to 100.

— Yang Gyeong-samYang ended his recommendation to check cholesterol and protect cardiovascular health.
About this summary

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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