Sticking to One Statin
Reported September 01, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) High cholesterol levels can lead to heart attack or stroke, two of our nations 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
