If someone with heart disease already has low 'bad' cholesterol on standard statin pills, stepping up their treatment might cut their risk of heart attacks or strokes by almost half.

If someone with heart disease already has low 'bad' cholesterol on standard statin pills, stepping up their treatment even more can cut the chance of needing heart procedures like stents or bypass surgery by more than a third.

If someone with heart disease is already lowering their bad cholesterol below 70 with a medium-strength statin, taking stronger cholesterol meds probably won’t significantly reduce their risk of heart attacks, strokes, or heart-related death—based on current data.

For people with heart disease caused by clogged arteries, taking a moderate-strength cholesterol drug plus another pill called ezetimibe lowers bad cholesterol more than taking a strong cholesterol pill alone — just a little, but it's a real difference.

If people with heart disease already have low 'bad' cholesterol from statins, going even lower might help avoid heart attacks, strokes, or surgeries like stents.

For people with heart disease caused by clogged arteries, taking a combo of a mid-strength cholesterol pill (statin) plus another drug (ezetimibe) works better at getting bad cholesterol under 70 than taking a strong statin alone.