Joe says:

Thanks so much for your question. It has had me puzzling also, so I asked heart expert (and co-author of my book PREVENT, HALT & REVERSE HEART DISEASE) Dr Barry Franklin for his comments:

"To me," says Dr Franklin. "one study does not discount many many previous reports regarding the potential cardioprotective benefits of niacin treatment, or other forms of it (i.e, niaspan). Niacin unquestionably increases HDL cholesterol which, in some people may, over time, lead to cardiovascular benefits. If you read this recent report, the study was prematurely stopped because after 18months there were really no discernible benefits in the group that also got niacin. I would contend that the AIM HIGH trial had several methodologic limitations and that these results aren't necessarily generalizable to all persons at risk for CAD or those with documented CAD. The bottom line: more data are needed. However, I'm not ready to throw MY niacin out after this one report and, in fact, have continued to take 2 capsules daily--even after the NHLBI report came out."
1 | Jun. 10, 2011 at 10:06am