Two drug combo can significantly cut risk of heart attack, stroke

A study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggests that combining two cholesterol-lowering drugs could prevent thousands of deaths annually from heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases.

 

Researchers analysed data from 14 studies involving 1,08,373 patients at very high risk of heart attack or stroke, or who had already experienced one. The study found that pairing a high-dose statin with the drug ezetimibe significantly lowered levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, improving the chances of reaching healthy cholesterol levels by 85 per cent. This combination therapy was considerably more effective than statins alone at reducing LDL cholesterol.

 

Statins work by reducing cholesterol production in the liver, while ezetimibe limits the amount of cholesterol absorbed by the intestines from food. Compared to taking statins alone, the combination therapy reduced the risk of death from any cause by 19 per cent, cardiovascular-related deaths by 16 per cent, major cardiovascular events by 18 per cent and stroke by 17 per cent.

 

An additional analysis comparing different therapies showed a 49 per cent reduction in all-cause mortality and a 39 per cent reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, compared to high-dose statin therapy alone.

 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cardiovascular diseases claim about 20 million lives annually, with high LDL cholesterol responsible for 4.5 million deaths in 2020. Researchers estimate that this two-drug combination could prevent more than 3.3 lakh deaths each year worldwide among patients who have already had a heart attack.

 

“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,” said the senior researcher. 

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