Private MD News

New study proves benefit of combination therapies for treating high cholesterol

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Individuals who receive unhealthy cholesterol test results are typically given a prescription for a statin medication. New research indicates that taking more than one type of statin could have added benefits.

A team of investigators from Loyola University tracked the health of a group of patients being treated for high cholesterol over a 20-year period. The results showed that those who used combination statin therapies had lower LDL cholesterol, higher HDL cholesterol and less plaque built up in their arteries than participants who took statin medications alone.

The researchers also measured participants vascular age, which is an assessment used to determine if a person's cardiovascular system has been put through greater stress than their age would predict. The statin-only participants had an average vascular age that was 10.2 years older than the participants on combination therapies.

Previous studies have shown that combination therapies can have short-term advantages over single-statin medications. However, the researchers said that this is the first investigation to prove that these benefits last for an extended period of time.