Synopsis
A new study suggests that using a combination of statins and ezetimibe could significantly reduce the risk of subsequent heart attacks and strokes in patients, potentially preventing thousands of deaths over a decade.Key Takeaways
- Combination therapy can prevent new heart attacks.
- Early treatment with ezetimibe is crucial.
- Many patients do not achieve target cholesterol levels with statins alone.
- Changing treatment strategies could save lives.
- Global health systems could benefit from new guidelines.
New Delhi, April 15 (NationPress) Administering a combination of statins and the cholesterol-lowering medication ezetimibe to patients in the early stages could avert thousands of new heart attacks, strokes, and fatalities over the next decade, as revealed by a recent study.
Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death globally, with heart attacks (myocardial infarction) being the predominant acute incident.
For heart attack survivors, the likelihood of experiencing another heart attack is particularly high during the first year following the initial event due to increased vulnerability of the blood vessels, which raises the probability of blood clot formation.
Researchers from Lund University in Sweden and Imperial College London noted that lowering LDL or “bad” cholesterol in the bloodstream can stabilize vascular changes, thereby reducing the chances of subsequent events.
Current treatment protocols typically involve prescribing statins immediately post-heart attack. However, many patients fail to achieve the optimal cholesterol levels with statins alone, necessitating additional treatment like ezetimibe, as suggested by the research team.
“The findings indicate that we could save lives and decrease the incidence of further heart attacks by providing patients with a combination of two affordable medications. Currently, patients worldwide are not receiving these drugs together, leading to unnecessary and preventable heart attacks and fatalities, along with additional costs to healthcare systems,” stated co-investigator Professor Kausik Ray from Imperial College London’s School of Public Health.
“Our research points to the necessity for a shift in care pathways for patients post-heart event,” he further elaborated.
The study evaluated outcomes for heart attacks among 36,000 patients who experienced a heart attack between 2015 and 2022.
Results indicated that those who received the combined treatment of statins and ezetimibe within 12 weeks of their heart attack managed to lower cholesterol levels to the target early on. They exhibited a more favorable prognosis and reduced risk of new cardiovascular incidents and mortality compared to those who received the additional treatment later or not at all.
The research team emphasized that a significant number of new heart attacks, strokes, and deaths could be prevented annually on a global scale if treatment strategies were revised.
Under a scenario where 100 percent of patients received ezetimibe promptly, they project that 133 heart attacks could be averted in a population of 10,000 patients over three years.
