• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Environment Medical Research

Thousands of lives could be saved by combining two cholesterol-lowering drugs, study suggests

March 23, 2025
in Medical Research
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
0
blocked arteries
8
SHARES
18
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


blocked arteries
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The largest analysis to examine the best way to lower levels of “bad” cholesterol in patients with blocked arteries shows that they should immediately be given a combination of a statin and another drug called ezetimibe, rather than statins alone. This could prevent thousands of deaths a year from heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases.

The meta-analysis of 108,353 patients in 14 studies who were at very high risk of suffering heart attack or stroke, or who had already suffered one of these cardiovascular events is published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

It shows that when ezetimibe was combined with a high dose statin to reduce levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), there was a significant 19% reduction in the risk of death from any cause, a 16% reduction in deaths from cardiovascular causes, and a significant reduction in the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events or stroke by 18% and 17% respectively, compared to high doses of statins alone.

The combination therapy also significantly reduced LDL-C levels by an extra 13mg per deciliter (dL) of blood compared to statins alone, measured from the baseline—the time at which the patient first started the treatment. This increased the chances of reaching the ideal goal of less than 70mg/dL of LDL-C by 85%.

“These results were even more pronounced in the network meta-analysis, which enables a direct comparison of different therapy regimens used in the study. This showed a 49% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 39% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, when compared to high-dose statin therapy alone,” said first author, Maciej Banach, Professor of Cardiology at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, and Adjunct Professor at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Banach also leads the International Lipid Expert Panel and the Blood Pressure Meta-analysis Collaboration group that carried out the study.

“The combination therapy is safe and efficacious; the risk of adverse events and the therapy discontinuation rate was comparable between groups. In the network meta-analysis, we showed a significant 44% reduction in the risk of discontinuation in those treated with moderately high-dose statin therapy plus ezetimibe versus a high-dose statin alone.”

Until now, there have been inconsistent findings about whether or not combined cholesterol-lowering therapy should be given to high-risk patients immediately, even before they suffer a heart attack or stroke, or whether doctors should start these patients on a high-dose statin first and monitor the effects on cholesterol levels after at least two months before deciding if the patients need ezetimibe as well.

Co-author of the study, Peter Toth, Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine, University of Illinois, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, U.S., said, “This study confirms that combined cholesterol-lowering therapy should be considered immediately and should be the gold standard for treatment of very high-risk patients after an acute cardiovascular event.

“Simply adding ezetimibe to statin therapy, without waiting for at least two months to see the effects of statin monotherapy, which is suboptimal in many patients, is associated with more effective LDL-C goal achievement and is responsible for significant incremental reductions in cardiovascular health problems and deaths.

“This approach does not require additional funding or reimbursement of new expensive drugs. In fact, it may translate into lower rates of first and subsequent heart attacks and stroke, and their complications like heart failure, which are extremely costly for all health care systems.”

According to data from the Global Burden of Disease and the American Heart Association, deaths occurring as a result of high LDL-C alone are highest in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and 4.5 million deaths worldwide were attributed to it in 2020.

Prof. Banach said, “Cardiovascular disease kills around 20 million people a year worldwide. Based on our previous analysis, we estimate that if combination therapy to reduce LDL-C was included in all treatment guidelines and implemented by doctors everywhere for patients with high cholesterol levels, it would prevent over 330,000 deaths a year among patients who have already suffered a heart attack, and almost 50,000 deaths alone in the U.S.

“We recommend combination therapy should be considered the gold standard of treatment for these patients and included in all future treatment guidelines.”

Statins have been used safely for years. They help to lower LDL-C by reducing the production of it by the liver. Ezetimibe reduces the amount of cholesterol that the body takes from food by inhibiting the absorption of it in the intestines.

Some patients do not respond adequately to statins and are prescribed ezetimibe in combination with a statin. High doses of statins are known as “high intensity” statins and moderately high doses are known as “moderate intensity” or “medium intensity” statins.

Prof. Toth said, “Our findings underline the importance of the adages ‘the lower for better for longer’ but also the equally important ‘the earlier the better’ for treating patients at high risk of cardiovascular conditions and to avoid further medical complications and deaths.”

A strength of the study is its large size, as it includes the greatest number of patients studied so far. The patients were included in 14 studies, 11 of which were randomized controlled trials and three were cohort studies.

Limitations relate mainly to the type of studies that were included in the meta-analysis, including their size and the observational nature of some of them.

More information:
Maciej Banach, et al. The impact of lipid-lowering combination of therapy of statins and ezetimibe vs. statin monotherapy on the reduction of cardiovascular outcomes: a meta-analysis, Mayo Clinic Proceedings (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2025.01.018

Provided by
Polskie Towarzystwo Lipidologiczne (Polish Lipid Association)

Citation:
Thousands of lives could be saved by combining two cholesterol-lowering drugs, study suggests (2025, March 23)
retrieved 23 March 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-thousands-combining-cholesterol-lowering-drugs.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.



blocked arteries
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The largest analysis to examine the best way to lower levels of “bad” cholesterol in patients with blocked arteries shows that they should immediately be given a combination of a statin and another drug called ezetimibe, rather than statins alone. This could prevent thousands of deaths a year from heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases.

The meta-analysis of 108,353 patients in 14 studies who were at very high risk of suffering heart attack or stroke, or who had already suffered one of these cardiovascular events is published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

It shows that when ezetimibe was combined with a high dose statin to reduce levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), there was a significant 19% reduction in the risk of death from any cause, a 16% reduction in deaths from cardiovascular causes, and a significant reduction in the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events or stroke by 18% and 17% respectively, compared to high doses of statins alone.

The combination therapy also significantly reduced LDL-C levels by an extra 13mg per deciliter (dL) of blood compared to statins alone, measured from the baseline—the time at which the patient first started the treatment. This increased the chances of reaching the ideal goal of less than 70mg/dL of LDL-C by 85%.

“These results were even more pronounced in the network meta-analysis, which enables a direct comparison of different therapy regimens used in the study. This showed a 49% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 39% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, when compared to high-dose statin therapy alone,” said first author, Maciej Banach, Professor of Cardiology at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, and Adjunct Professor at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Banach also leads the International Lipid Expert Panel and the Blood Pressure Meta-analysis Collaboration group that carried out the study.

“The combination therapy is safe and efficacious; the risk of adverse events and the therapy discontinuation rate was comparable between groups. In the network meta-analysis, we showed a significant 44% reduction in the risk of discontinuation in those treated with moderately high-dose statin therapy plus ezetimibe versus a high-dose statin alone.”

Until now, there have been inconsistent findings about whether or not combined cholesterol-lowering therapy should be given to high-risk patients immediately, even before they suffer a heart attack or stroke, or whether doctors should start these patients on a high-dose statin first and monitor the effects on cholesterol levels after at least two months before deciding if the patients need ezetimibe as well.

Co-author of the study, Peter Toth, Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine, University of Illinois, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, U.S., said, “This study confirms that combined cholesterol-lowering therapy should be considered immediately and should be the gold standard for treatment of very high-risk patients after an acute cardiovascular event.

“Simply adding ezetimibe to statin therapy, without waiting for at least two months to see the effects of statin monotherapy, which is suboptimal in many patients, is associated with more effective LDL-C goal achievement and is responsible for significant incremental reductions in cardiovascular health problems and deaths.

“This approach does not require additional funding or reimbursement of new expensive drugs. In fact, it may translate into lower rates of first and subsequent heart attacks and stroke, and their complications like heart failure, which are extremely costly for all health care systems.”

According to data from the Global Burden of Disease and the American Heart Association, deaths occurring as a result of high LDL-C alone are highest in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and 4.5 million deaths worldwide were attributed to it in 2020.

Prof. Banach said, “Cardiovascular disease kills around 20 million people a year worldwide. Based on our previous analysis, we estimate that if combination therapy to reduce LDL-C was included in all treatment guidelines and implemented by doctors everywhere for patients with high cholesterol levels, it would prevent over 330,000 deaths a year among patients who have already suffered a heart attack, and almost 50,000 deaths alone in the U.S.

“We recommend combination therapy should be considered the gold standard of treatment for these patients and included in all future treatment guidelines.”

Statins have been used safely for years. They help to lower LDL-C by reducing the production of it by the liver. Ezetimibe reduces the amount of cholesterol that the body takes from food by inhibiting the absorption of it in the intestines.

Some patients do not respond adequately to statins and are prescribed ezetimibe in combination with a statin. High doses of statins are known as “high intensity” statins and moderately high doses are known as “moderate intensity” or “medium intensity” statins.

Prof. Toth said, “Our findings underline the importance of the adages ‘the lower for better for longer’ but also the equally important ‘the earlier the better’ for treating patients at high risk of cardiovascular conditions and to avoid further medical complications and deaths.”

A strength of the study is its large size, as it includes the greatest number of patients studied so far. The patients were included in 14 studies, 11 of which were randomized controlled trials and three were cohort studies.

Limitations relate mainly to the type of studies that were included in the meta-analysis, including their size and the observational nature of some of them.

More information:
Maciej Banach, et al. The impact of lipid-lowering combination of therapy of statins and ezetimibe vs. statin monotherapy on the reduction of cardiovascular outcomes: a meta-analysis, Mayo Clinic Proceedings (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2025.01.018

Provided by
Polskie Towarzystwo Lipidologiczne (Polish Lipid Association)

Citation:
Thousands of lives could be saved by combining two cholesterol-lowering drugs, study suggests (2025, March 23)
retrieved 23 March 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-thousands-combining-cholesterol-lowering-drugs.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.


Tags: Health ResearchHealth Research NewsHealth ScienceMedicine ResearchMedicine Research NewsMedicine Science
Previous Post

Two women killed, baby injured in wrong-way DUI crash in Pomona

Next Post

Australia's Mineral Resources resumes haulage at Onslow Iron project todayheadline

Related Posts

MAGA Calls to ‘Revoke’ Trump’s Surgeon General Nomination Accusing Her of Getting ‘the Covid Jab’: ‘Another MAHA Grifter’

May 9, 2025
5
Queensland research developing wearable X-ray for kids and more briefs

Queensland research developing wearable X-ray for kids and more briefs

May 9, 2025
8
Next Post

Australia's Mineral Resources resumes haulage at Onslow Iron project todayheadline

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0
Justice Sonia Sotomayor urges lawyers to 'stand up' amid Trump tumult

Justice Sonia Sotomayor urges lawyers to ‘stand up’ amid Trump tumult

May 9, 2025
US-UK trade deal: What to know

US-UK trade deal: What to know

May 9, 2025
Chicago celebrates its native son's elevation to pope

Chicago celebrates its native son’s elevation to pope

May 9, 2025
Supersized jewellery factory opening signals more support for ‘Made in Italy’

Supersized jewellery factory opening signals more support for ‘Made in Italy’

May 9, 2025

Recent News

Justice Sonia Sotomayor urges lawyers to 'stand up' amid Trump tumult

Justice Sonia Sotomayor urges lawyers to ‘stand up’ amid Trump tumult

May 9, 2025
2
US-UK trade deal: What to know

US-UK trade deal: What to know

May 9, 2025
3
Chicago celebrates its native son's elevation to pope

Chicago celebrates its native son’s elevation to pope

May 9, 2025
5
Supersized jewellery factory opening signals more support for ‘Made in Italy’

Supersized jewellery factory opening signals more support for ‘Made in Italy’

May 9, 2025
4

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

Justice Sonia Sotomayor urges lawyers to 'stand up' amid Trump tumult

Justice Sonia Sotomayor urges lawyers to ‘stand up’ amid Trump tumult

May 9, 2025
US-UK trade deal: What to know

US-UK trade deal: What to know

May 9, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co