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Statin combination therapy and cardiovascular risk reduction

    Peter P Toth

    *Author for correspondence:

    E-mail Address: peter.toth@cghmc.com

    CGH Medical Center, Sterling, Illinois, & Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    ,
    Michel Farnier

    Lipid Clinic, Point Médical, Dijon, France

    ,
    Joanne E Tomassini

    Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA

    ,
    JoAnne M Foody

    Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA

    &
    Andrew M Tershakovec

    Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA

    Published Online:https://doi.org/10.2217/fca-2015-0011

    In numerous clinical trials, lowering LDL-C with statin therapy has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in primary and secondary prevention settings. Guidelines recommend statins for first-line therapy in cholesterol-lowering management of patients with CVD risk. Despite increased statin monotherapy use over the last decade, a number of patients with high CVD risk do not achieve optimal LDL-C lowering. Guidelines recommend consideration of statin combination therapy with nonstatin agents for these patients. However, combination therapy approaches have been hampered by neutral findings. Recently, ezetimibe added to simvastatin therapy reduced cardiovascular events in acute coronary syndrome patients, more than simvastatin alone. This article provides an overview of various agents in combination with statin therapy on cardiovascular outcomes. Other lipid-lowering agents in development, including PCSK9 and CETP inhibitors in development, are also described.

    Papers of special note have been highlighted as: • of interest; •• of considerable interest

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