For people who've had a recent heart problem, taking ezetimibe with their cholesterol medicine (a statin) helps prevent heart attacks and strokes over 7 years — and doesn't seem to cause extra cancer...

For people at very high risk of heart problems, taking a cholesterol drug called ezetimibe along with a statin might lower their chances of serious heart issues more than taking just a statin alone.

If someone has a heart attack and starts taking a cholesterol drug called ezetimibe within 3 months, they’re less likely to have another heart problem in the next 3 years compared to those who wait longer or never start it.

For people with heart artery disease already taking cholesterol pills, adding one of two other types of cholesterol drugs helps lower their chances of heart attacks and strokes — especially strokes — and gives extra protection for their heart health.

For people with high cholesterol and heart disease risk, taking ezetimibe with a statin might lead to more serious side effects than just doubling the statin dose — but these bad reactions are still very rare and might not even be caused by the drugs.

For people with high cholesterol and a high risk of heart disease, taking ezetimibe with a statin doesn’t prevent death, heart attacks, chest pain, or strokes better than just taking a higher dose of the statin—even though it improves cholesterol numbers more.