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Combination of a cholesterol-lowering statin and ezetimibe lowers risk of a heart attack or stroke
High cholesterol is a key culprit in the development of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States and many other developed countries. We know that lowering cholesterol helps prevent heart attacks and strokes. But an unanswered question remains: how low should you go? New research published online today in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that lower is better. Cholesterol and cardiovascular disease Cholesterol travels through the bloodstream in two main particles: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). HDL scavenges cholesterol from the bloodstream and fro...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - June 4, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Gregory Curfman, MD Tags: Drugs and Supplements Heart Health cholesterol ezetimibe Source Type: news

Studies support broader use of cholesterol-lowering statins
The latest guidelines used to determine who should take a cholesterol-lowering statin to prevent heart disease appear to be more accurate and cost-efficient than the previous guidelines. That’s according to two studies led by Harvard researchers, both published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association. For many years, the main deciding factor in who needed to take a statin was the level of an individual’s harmful low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). Updated guidelines published in 2013 by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association moved away from LDL and ...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - July 16, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Julie Corliss Tags: Drugs and Supplements cholesterol high cholesterol statins Source Type: news

Effect of Low‐Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Lowering by Ezetimibe/Simvastatin on Outcome Incidence: Overview, Meta‐Analyses, and Meta‐Regression Analyses of Randomized Trials
ABSTRACT This analysis investigated the extent of different outcome reductions from low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) lowering following ezetimibe/simvastatin treatment and the proportionality of outcome to LDL‐C reductions. The authors searched PubMed between 1997 and mid‐June 2015 (any language) and the Cochrane Library to identify all randomized controlled trials comparing ezetimibe/simvastatin with placebo or less intensive LDL‐C lowering. Risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), standardized to 20 mg/dL LDL‐C reduction, were calculated for 5 primary outcomes (fatal and nonfatal) and...
Source: Clinical Cardiology - August 18, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Costas Thomopoulos, George Skalis, Helena Michalopoulou, Costas Tsioufis, Thomas Makris Tags: Review Source Type: research

7 Myths About Cholesterol, Debunked
You may not recall every lab value from your last physical, but you probably remember one: Your cholesterol level. If it’s higher than ideal, you’re not alone. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2015 and 2018, almost 12% of U.S. adults ages 20 and up had high total cholesterol, defined as above 240 mg/dL. The type that physicians mostly worry about is LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol, which is one component of that total. Why do doctors care so much about cholesterol? First, “it predicts risk,” says Dr. Jeffrey Berger, a cardiologist and director of the C...
Source: TIME: Health - June 19, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Katherine Hobson Tags: Uncategorized freelance healthscienceclimate heart health Source Type: news

Economic evaluation of ezetimibe treatment in combination with statin therapy in the United States.
CONCLUSIONS: Compared with statin monotherapy, ezetimibe with statin therapy was cost-effective for secondary prevention of CHD and stroke and for primary prevention of these conditions in patients whose LDL-C level is ≥ 100 mg/dL and in patients with diabetes, taking into account a 90% cost reduction for ezetimibe. PMID: 28426345 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of Medical Economics - April 22, 2017 Category: Health Management Tags: J Med Econ Source Type: research

Omega-3 fatty acids for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease
In this interview with Dr. Lee Hooper we find out more about this new Cochrane review -Omega-3 fatty acids for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseaseTell us about this Cochrane ReviewThere is a great deal of public belief in the cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 fats.   Intakes of long-chain omega-3 fats in the US are higher from dietary supplements than foods.  But public health advice differs across countries. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in the UK encourages people to eat oily fish intake (the major source of long-chain omega-3 f ats) but discourages supplementatio...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - February 5, 2020 Category: Information Technology Authors: Katie Abbotts Source Type: news

Evaluating cardiovascular event reduction with ezetimibe as an adjunct to simvastatin in 18,144 patients after acute coronary syndromes: Final baseline characteristics of the IMPROVE-IT study population
Background: The IMProved Reduction of Outcomes: Vytorin Efficacy International Trial (IMPROVE-IT) is evaluating the potential benefit for reduction in major cardiovascular (CV) events from the addition of ezetimibe versus placebo to 40 mg/d of simvastatin therapy in patients who present with acute coronary syndromes and have low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ≤125 mg/dL.Methods: The primary composite end point is CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), nonfatal stroke, rehospitalization for unstable angina (UA), and coronary revascularization (≥30 days postrandomization). The simvastatin monotherapy arm’s LDL-C target is
Source: American Heart Journal - May 19, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Michael A. Blazing, Robert P. Giugliano, Christopher P. Cannon, Thomas A. Musliner, Andrew M. Tershakovec, Jennifer A. White, Craig Reist, Amy McCagg, Eugene Braunwald, Robert M. Califf Tags: Acute Ischemic Heart Disease Source Type: research

A retrospective case series of the lipid effects of switching from omega-3 fatty acid ethyl esters to icosapent ethyl in hyperlipidemic patients.
CONCLUSION: The results of this real-world retrospective analysis of 14 patients with hyperlipidemia demonstrated reductions in TG, LDL-C, TC, and non-HDL-C levels, with mixed results in HDL-C levels, after switching from OM3EE to IPE. PMID: 24977343 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Source: Postgraduate Medicine - November 28, 2014 Category: Internal Medicine Tags: Postgrad Med Source Type: research

Sex differences in cardiovascular outcome during progression of aortic valve stenosis
Conclusions In the SEAS study, women and men had similar rates of AS progression and AS-related events. However, women had lower total mortality and ischaemic CV event rate than men independent of confounders. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00092677.
Source: Heart - January 14, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Cramariuc, D., Rogge, B. P., Lonnebakken, M. T., Boman, K., Bahlmann, E., Gohlke-Barwolf, C., Chambers, J. B., Pedersen, T. R., Gerdts, E. Tags: Open access, Drugs: cardiovascular system, Echocardiography, Hypertension, Interventional cardiology, Aortic valve disease, Clinical diagnostic tests, Epidemiology Valvular heart disease Source Type: research

Ezetimibe provides incremental reduction in risk for cardiovascular events and need for revascularisation following an acute coronary syndrome
Commentary on: Cannon CP, Blazing MA, Giugliano RP, et al., IMPROVE-IT Investigators. Ezetimibe Added to Statin Therapy after Acute Coronary Syndromes. N Engl J Med 2015;372:2387–97. Context Use of statin therapy to treat dyslipidemia in patients with established coronary artery disease is the standard of care worldwide. Given the negative results of a number of trials that tested the use of adjuvant lipid-lowering therapies against a statin background, there has been great scepticism about whether or not non-statin drugs provide incremental benefit.1–3 Ezetimibe inhibits the absorption of both dietary and bili...
Source: Evidence-Based Medicine - September 24, 2015 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Toth, P. P. Tags: Health policy, Epidemiologic studies, Genetics, Immunology (including allergy), Vaccination / immunisation, Stroke, Diet, Ischaemic heart disease, Health economics, Health service research, Lipid disorders Therapeutics/Prevention Source Type: research

Do statins interfere with the flu vaccine?
Statins are powerful, unusual, and, like El Niño and Tom Cruise, not well understood. Statins have a huge upside. They improve survival after heart attacks and lower the risk of recurrent strokes. They are also the only cholesterol-lowering medications that have been clearly shown to reduce heart attacks and deaths in high-risk patients without heart disease. In addition to reducing cholesterol, statins also lower levels of inflammation in the body. Reducing inflammation probably helps statins to prevent heart attack and stroke. However, evidence is emerging that these statin effects may also have a downside, hindering th...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - November 30, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Ross, MD, FIDSA Tags: Cold and Flu Drugs and Supplements Health Heart Health Vaccines flu vaccine statins Source Type: news

Merck Receives Complete Response Letter from the U.S. FDA for ZETIA® (ezetimibe) and VYTORIN® (ezetimibe and simvastatin)
Dateline City: KENILWORTH, N.J. KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Complete Response Letter regarding Merck's Supplemental New Drug Applications for ZETIA® and VYTORIN® for the reduction of the risk of cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for unstable angina, or need for revascularization) in patients with coronary heart disease. Language: ...
Source: Merck.com - Product News - February 15, 2016 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Prescription Medicine News Corporate News Latest News Source Type: news

Farewell to the fasting cholesterol test?
At a recent meeting I offered a visitor lunch which she declined with obvious regret. She was hungry, and it was noon. But she was headed to her annual physical, and eating beforehand would mean returning another morning for a fasting cholesterol level. Most of us can relate to her annoyance, but thankfully this may soon be a thing of the past. Doctors have traditionally ordered cholesterol tests to be drawn after an overnight fast. But this requirement causes a significant burden on both sides of the health care equation. Most people hate to fast. Skipping meals is particularly difficult for active people, people with dia...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - June 16, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Naomi D. L. Fisher, MD Tags: Health Heart Health Prevention Screening Tests and procedures Source Type: news

Merck Receives Complete Response Letter from the U.S. FDA for ZETIA ® (ezetimibe) and VYTORIN® (ezetimibe and simvastatin)
Dateline City: KENILWORTH, N.J. KENILWORTH, N.J.--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Complete Response Letter regarding Merck ' s Supplemental New Drug Applications for ZETIA ® and VYTORIN® for the reduction of the risk of cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for unstable angina, or need for revascularization) in patients with coronary heart disease. Language: English ...
Source: Merck.com - Product News - February 15, 2016 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Prescription Medicine News Corporate News Latest News Source Type: news

Cost-Effectiveness of Alirocumab: A Just-in-Time Analysis Based on the ODYSSEY Outcomes Trial.
Conclusion: The price of alirocumab would have to be reduced considerably to be cost-effective. Because substantial reductions already have occurred, we believe that timely, independent cost-effectiveness analyses can inform clinical and policy discussions of new drugs as they enter the market. Primary Funding Source: University of California, San Francisco, and Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. PMID: 30597485 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Annals of Internal Medicine - January 1, 2019 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Kazi DS, Penko J, Coxson PG, Guzman D, Wei PC, Bibbins-Domingo K Tags: Ann Intern Med Source Type: research

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