People with high cholesterol are often determined by statin – LDL (low -density lipoprotein) and a square of drugs to reduce triglycerides made by the liver – to help reduce the possibility of development of heart disease.

However, a new study has found that if Statin is combined with another type of cholesterol-low drug, called azatimib, the combination can prevent heart attack, stroke and other heart diseases.

Traditionally, doctors prescribe statin as the first row treatment to reduce high cholesterol and then wait at least two months to assess a patient’s response to a patient before adding ezetimibe.

Researchers from various institutions around the world including India made a meta-analysis of 1,08,353 patients in 14 studies, who were at a high risk of suffering from heart attack or stroke, or who had already faced one of these cardiovascular incidents in the past.

The study found that patients with blocked arteries can reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke by starting a combination of statin and ezetimibe alone, instead of relying on statin alone.

Studies show that immediate combination therapy should be new standard, especially for people with high risk.

According to the researchers, the findings published in the proceedings of Mayo Clinic show that this approach can prevent thousands of deaths every year from heart diseases.

Researchers found that a combination of ezetimibe with high-stained statin reduced the risk of death 19%, death 16%, and major heart events and strokes to 18%and 17%respectively.

Therapy reduced LDL cholesterol (usually known as ‘bad’ cholesterol levels) from baseline additional 13 mg/dL (time for treatment), increasing the possibility of achieving the recommended LDL-C targets below 70 mg/dL.

For high risk people of heart disease (eg, people with existing heart conditions or diabetes), guidelines suggest that LDL cholesterol is reduced by 70 mg/dL to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

“These result combinations throw light on the need to start therapy, rather than to see if Statin is effective alone. Our findings suggest that adding Ezatimbe upfronts is a safe and more effective way to reduce cholesterol and prevent life-drank heart conditions,” said the McAiege Banach, a lead researcher and a cardiology expert.

Peter Toth, a co-author of the study, emphasized that this approach does not require additional health care costs and it can help reduce long-term complications such as heart failure.

According to global health data, high LDL cholesterol contributed to 4.5 million deaths in 2020, with the highest mortality rate in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. If the combination therapy was widely adopted, it could prevent over 3,30,000 deaths annually among those who have already suffered a heart attack, including around 50,000 in the US.

Researchers urge healthcare guidelines to adopt a combination therapy as gold standard to manage high cholesterol and heart disease.