Michael A. Crouch M.D. This is Me

Education

 View all 44 references Web References

1. 1. Lighten Up Iowa: News: Do You Know Your Heart Numbers?, weight loss, diet

   www.lightenupiowa.org/aspx/new - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/24/2007   Last Visited: 5/2/2007

   "Walking is perfectly fine," Michael Crouch, MD, a family and community medicine specialist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, tells WebMD.

2. 2. STFM Annual Report 2006 - 2007 Research Committee Report

   www.stfm.org/annualreport/annu - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/1/2006   Last Visited: 5/27/2008

   Michael Crouch, MD, MSPH Baylor College of Medicine

3. 3. Today's Dietitian

   www.todaysdietitian.com/newarc - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/1/2006   Last Visited: 10/9/2006

   Michael Crouch, MD, associate professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and author of an article in American Family Physician in January 2001 on the effectiveness of statins in preventing coronary heart disease (CHD), believes patients' assumption that statins negate the need for diet intervention is a common misbelief. Crouch says, "Fortunately, the statins do compensate to a large extent for dietary saturated fat excesses, but they definitely lower LDL cholesterol more effectively if the individual also eats in a heart-healthy manner most of the time."
   ...
   "I think it is important for patients to reduce their saturated and trans fat intake as much as they are willing and able to do for four to six weeks, then have a repeat lipid profile done to give them feedback on their responsiveness to dietary change," says Crouch.
   
   "Some individuals with horrible baseline diets who drastically improve their eating habits can lower their LDL cholesterol 30% or more, but the average lowering effect is closer to 15% and many people don't change much at all because of the liver adjusting and continuing to make too much cholesterol and allowing it to accumulate in the blood," adds Crouch.
   
   The NCEP ATP III cholesterol guidelines recommend consideration of cholesterol-lowering drug treatment in addition to therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC), with the priority of attaining the goal for LDL cholesterol.
   ...
   Crouch says, "I think most physicians underutilize dietitians for this and other problems. I don't think most physicians give patients nearly enough information or direct them to appropriate information sources to maximize the chances for successfully lowering LDL cholesterol." Crouch considers himself one of the lucky ones, as he counseled patients on dietary changes to lower cholesterol for research during his first two years of medical school.