Sticking to One Statin
 

Reported September 01, 2009

(Ivanhoe Newswire) – High cholesterol levels can lead to heart attack or stroke, two of our nation’s top killers. With numerous treatment options available, a recent analysis found that sticking to one particular medicine may work better than combining multiple drugs.

Twenty-eight million Americans have a type of cardiovascular disease. Lowering the bad cholesterol can help prevent artery blockage, avoiding future serious health complications. To lower cholesterol, doctors most commonly prescribed statin therapy. However, only one-third of high cholesterol patients are able to successfully lower their LDL cholesterol to appropriate levels.

Physicians acknowledge the urge to identify a successful treatment plan for high cholesterol patients. Current treatment includes either taking a high dose of statin alone, or combining it with another lipid modifying agent such as ezetimibe, niacin, bile acid sequestrants, fibrates, or omega-3 fatty acids. After analyzing 102 published studies, researchers found no benefits of combination therapy for mortality, heart attack, stroke or revascularization procedures.

SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet, September 1, 2009