When should you start a cholesterol pill after a heart attack?
Early Ezetimibe Initiation After Myocardial Infarction Protects Against Later Cardiovascular Outcomes in the SWEDEHEART Registry.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
After a heart attack, people usually take strong cholesterol pills called statins. Adding another pill called ezetimibe soon after helps lower bad cholesterol even more and protects the heart.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
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Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
After a heart attack, people usually take strong cholesterol pills called statins. Adding another pill called ezetimibe soon after helps lower bad cholesterol even more and protects the heart.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 559 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Publication
Authors
Leosdottir M, Schubert J, Brandts J, Gustafsson S, Cars T, Sundström J, Jernberg T, Ray KK, Hagström E
Related Content
Claims (6)
Ezetimibe helps lower bad cholesterol by stopping your gut from absorbing it, and even though it works well and doesn't cost much, doctors don't use it as much as they could.
If someone has a heart attack and hasn’t taken cholesterol drugs before, waiting more than 12 weeks to start a drug called ezetimibe might increase their risk of future heart problems — though the data isn’t strong enough to be sure.
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.
If you've had a heart attack, starting a cholesterol drug called ezetimibe within 3 months might lower your chance of dying from heart problems over the next 3 years, compared to waiting or not taking it at all.
Out of nearly 36,000 people hospitalized for heart attacks, most didn't get a cholesterol drug called ezetimibe—even though almost all were already on strong statins. Only about 1 in 6 got it early, and a similar number got it later.