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pravastatin CR

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pravastatin CR

by loveusonu » Sat Jun 26, 2010 7:17 am
A recent study of 6,403 people showed that those treated with the drug pravastatin, one of the effects of which is to reduce cholesterol, had about one-third fewer nonfatal heart attacks and one-third fewer deaths from coronary disease than did those not taking the drug. This result is consistent with other studies, which show that those who have heart disease often have higher than average cholesterol levels. This shows that lowering cholesterol levels reduces the risk of heart disease.

The argument's reasoning is flawed because the argument

(A) neglects the possibility that pravastatin may have severe side effects
(B) fails to consider that pravastatin may reduce the risk of heart disease but not as a consequence of its lowering cholesterol levels
(C) relies on past finding, rather than drawing its principal conclusion from the data found in the specific study cited
(D) draws a conclusion regarding the effects of lowering cholesterol levels on heart disease, when in fact the conclusion should focus on the relation between pravastatin and cholesterol levels
(E) fails to consider that percentage of the general population might be taking pravastatin
Last edited by loveusonu on Sat Jun 26, 2010 8:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by Shawshank » Sat Jun 26, 2010 7:31 am
imo -- d

just a guess.. was confused between b and d..
please state the expalanaton of ths qn
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by paes » Sat Jun 26, 2010 8:55 am
IMO B

Argument -> A recent study showed that those treated with the drug pravastatin, one of the effects of which is to reduce cholesterol, had about one-third fewer nonfatal heart attacks

clearly the heart attacks are lower now. But from this statement, it is not clear that whether the cholesterol level is also reduced.
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by gmat1011 » Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:58 am
I think it is B

B attacks the main flaw in the argument which is to assume that the reduction in the risk of heart disease happens due to the reduction of cholesterol levels, when in fact the question provides that such chol. reduction is just "one of the effects" of the use of the drug. Some other property of this drug (such as say antioxidant production - who knows) may well be contributing to the reduction of the risk of heart disease - we don't know and the argument fails to take this into account

D is not as good

Drug use ---> Chol reduction ---> Heart disease risk reduction is the basic sequence of events

The conclusion can validly focus on the effects of lowering cholesterol levels on heart disease, if in fact it is true
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by loveusonu » Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:43 am
paes wrote:IMO B

Argument -> A recent study showed that those treated with the drug pravastatin, one of the effects of which is to reduce cholesterol, had about one-third fewer nonfatal heart attacks

clearly the heart attacks are lower now. But from this statement, it is not clear that whether the cholesterol level is also reduced.
Yep, B was the reason I posted this question...I felt E more reliable than B simply because of number percent error.
How do you rejected E?
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by loveusonu » Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:44 am
gmat1011 wrote:I think it is B

B attacks the main flaw in the argument which is to assume that the reduction in the risk of heart disease happens due to the reduction of cholesterol levels, when in fact the question provides that such chol. reduction is just "one of the effects" of the use of the drug. Some other property of this drug (such as say antioxidant production - who knows) may well be contributing to the reduction of the risk of heart disease - we don't know and the argument fails to take this into account

D is not as good

Drug use ---> Chol reduction ---> Heart disease risk reduction is the basic sequence of events

The conclusion can validly focus on the effects of lowering cholesterol levels on heart disease, if in fact it is true
Agreed , what abt E?
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by paddle_sweep » Sat Jun 26, 2010 8:33 pm
loveusonu wrote:
gmat1011 wrote:I think it is B

B attacks the main flaw in the argument which is to assume that the reduction in the risk of heart disease happens due to the reduction of cholesterol levels, when in fact the question provides that such chol. reduction is just "one of the effects" of the use of the drug. Some other property of this drug (such as say antioxidant production - who knows) may well be contributing to the reduction of the risk of heart disease - we don't know and the argument fails to take this into account

D is not as good

Drug use ---> Chol reduction ---> Heart disease risk reduction is the basic sequence of events

The conclusion can validly focus on the effects of lowering cholesterol levels on heart disease, if in fact it is true
Agreed , what abt E?
The passage assumes that lowering of cholesterol level lowers the risk of heart disease. We need to find the answer choice that attacks this assumption and 'E' does not attack the assumption.
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