People who take strong cholesterol-lowering drugs to get their LDL very low don’t stop taking them more often because of side effects than those on regular doses.

When people lower their 'bad' cholesterol to very low levels using strong medications, they have fewer heart attacks and strokes than those with higher cholesterol levels.

Taking medicines to lower bad cholesterol can cut your risk of a heart attack by about a quarter, and the more you lower your cholesterol — especially by more than half or over 65 points — the better your protection, even if those drugs don’t always help you live longer.

Lowering 'bad' cholesterol below 55 might sound like the best thing to do to avoid heart attacks or death, but studies don’t consistently show that people live longer or have fewer heart problems at that ultra-low level compared to slightly higher levels—so maybe doctors don’t need to push everyone that low.

Lowering 'bad' cholesterol by more than half doesn't help you live longer than lowering it by a smaller amount — after a certain point, going even lower doesn't give you extra protection against heart attacks or death.