These pills can significantly reduce heart attack, stroke risk: study

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Cardiac disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing about 700,000 North -Americans each year.

New research estimates that about 50,000 American lives could be saved annually with a stroke of two drugs that reduce cholesterol.

“Combined therapy is safe and effective,” said Maciej Banach, first study and professor of cardiology at the Catholic University of John Paul II of Lublin, Poland.

High cholesterol causes plaque accumulation in the arteries, which can restrict blood flow and cause a heart attack or stroke.

Statins, which reduce cholesterol levels, are commonly prescribed to people at high risk of heart attack or stroke.

Banach suggests that giving these patients a statin and the medicine that reduces Ezetimibe cholesterol, instead of the statins, can reduce the risk of the early 19%death, a major cardiovascular event by 18%and a stroke by 17%.

The findings, published on Sunday in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, challenge the idea that patients gave a high dose statin should be controlled for at least two months before receiving Ezetimibe.

The Banach team recommended after analyzing the results of 14 studies, including more than 108,000 patients with blocked arteries.

“This study confirms that combined cholesterol therapy must be considered immediately and should be the gold standard for the treatment of high -risk patients,” said Peter Allh, co -author of the study.

“By simply adding Ezetimibe to Statin Therapy, without waiting at least two months to see the effects of statin monotherapy, which is suboptimal in many patients,” he continued, “is associated with the most effective LDL [cholesterol] Achievement of the objectives and is responsible for the significant incremental reductions in the problems and deaths of cardiovascular health. “”

Cardiovascular disease kills about 20 million people worldwide thanks to the prevalence of high blood pressure, consumption of cigarettes, obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes and high cholesterol.

About 94 million Americans, 20 and older, have what could be considered a high border cholesterol.

Statins reduce the production of liver cholesterol, leading to lower levels of LDL cholesterol, forming plaque in the blood.

Ezetimibe (brand name: zetia) blocks the small intestine to absorb cholesterol.

)[The combination] The approach does not require additional funding or reimbursement of new expensive drugs, “all said.” In fact, it can be translated into lower rates of first and subsequent heart attacks and stroke, and their complications such as heart failure, which are extremely expensive for all health care systems. “

Dr. Benjamin Hirsh, director of preventive cardiology at North Shore University Hospital, said he hopes that early combination therapy will become the new standard.

“It is very important that patients and doctors, in particular, realize that the aggressive reduction in LDL cholesterol is paramount, especially for patients at risk,” Hirsh said in The Post.

“Doctors often take a” wait and see “approach to see how patients initially respond to statin therapy,” he added, “for patients at high risk, there is no reason to wait.”