Lowering bad cholesterol reduces heart risks — no matter how you do it
Association Between Lowering LDL-C and Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Among Different Therapeutic Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Nonstatin therapies reduced heart risk just as much as statins per unit of LDL-C lowered.
Statins have been the gold standard for decades, and many assumed they had extra benefits beyond lowering LDL. This study suggests their power comes almost entirely from LDL reduction.
Practical Takeaways
If you can’t take statins, ask your doctor about ezetimibe or bile acid sequestrants—they may lower your heart risk just as much for the same LDL reduction.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Nonstatin therapies reduced heart risk just as much as statins per unit of LDL-C lowered.
Statins have been the gold standard for decades, and many assumed they had extra benefits beyond lowering LDL. This study suggests their power comes almost entirely from LDL reduction.
Practical Takeaways
If you can’t take statins, ask your doctor about ezetimibe or bile acid sequestrants—they may lower your heart risk just as much for the same LDL reduction.
Publication
Journal
JAMA
Year
2016
Authors
Michael G. Silverman, B. Ference, K. Im, S. Wiviott, R. Giugliano, S. Grundy, E. Braunwald, M. Sabatine
Related Content
Claims (4)
The lower your bad cholesterol level goes, the fewer heart attacks and heart-related deaths you’re likely to have — and this effect is even stronger if you’ve already had a heart problem before.
Lowering bad cholesterol by a certain amount reduces the chance of serious heart problems like heart attacks or strokes by about a quarter, no matter if you use statins or other cholesterol-lowering treatments that work the same way.
Statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs that work the same way (like ezetimibe) lower heart attack and stroke risk equally well for the same amount of cholesterol reduction.
Elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol directly drives atherosclerosis and increases cardiovascular disease risk.