Taking a lower-dose statin with another cholesterol drug doesn’t raise 'good' cholesterol more than taking a higher-dose statin alone in people with high cholesterol or heart risk — and the difference is basically zero after 6 to 8 weeks.

For people with high cholesterol or heart disease risk, taking a lower-dose statin plus another cholesterol drug works just as well as a higher-dose statin alone in lowering bad cholesterol over a few weeks.

Taking a lower dose of a cholesterol drug with another drug doesn’t lower triglycerides any more than taking a higher dose of just the first drug alone — both work about the same for this.

For people with high cholesterol, taking a lower-dose statin plus another cholesterol drug works better at lowering total cholesterol than taking a higher dose of the statin alone.

For people with high cholesterol or heart risks, taking a lower-dose combo pill (rosuvastatin + ezetimibe) doesn’t cause more or fewer side effects like muscle pain or liver issues than taking a higher dose of just rosuvastatin over 6 to 8 weeks.

For people at very high risk of heart problems, taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins plus another drug called ezetimibe lowers bad cholesterol more than taking statins alone — by about 13 points on average — and helps them hit their cholesterol targets better.