Vytorin / Zetia: Zetia Does Not Reduce Carotid Plaque Size When Added to Zocor (1 Viewer)

[Pure Energy]

In case you missed this story....I didn't notice it was posted.

Zetia reduces cholesterol 15 to 20 percent in most patients, no trial has been completed yet that has ever shown that it can reduce heart attacks and strokes -- or even that it reduces the growth of the fatty plaques in arteries that can cause heart problems. The Enhance trial "was designed to show that Zetia could reduce the growth" of fatty plaques in arteries. However, "the plaques actually grew by 0.005 mm more in those taking Zetia along with Zocor than in those taking Zocor alone."

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-15-2008/0004737154&EDATE=


NY Times Editorial today.

The findings also raise doubts about the current belief that lowering cholesterol is the key to cardiovascular health. The study showed that Vytorin reduced bad cholesterol significantly more than Zocor alone. The problem was that it failed to reduce the formation of plaque.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/opinion/16wed2.html?ref=opinion


ACC Advice for patients.

The ACC [American College of Cardiology] noted that patients should never stop taking any prescribed medications without first discussing the issue with their doctors and further research will be needed to provide conclusive evidence “about which lipid-lowering strategy is preferred”, ie statin alone or statin plus Zetia (ezetimibe).

http://www.pharmatimes.com/WorldNews/article.aspx?id=12643