The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association cholesterol guidelines recommend moderate- or high-intensity statin therapy for people whose medical conditions or cholesterol levels put them at risk for heart disease - the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.Д«ut some patients don't respond to high doses of statins and some suffer from side effects, including muscle pain, Gudzune said. 10 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Fibrates can lower levels of blood fats known as triglycerides and can sometimes raise levels of 'good' (HDL) cholesterol. There was not enough evidence regarding LDL cholesterol reduction when it came to using a low-dose statin with fibrates, niacin or omega-3 fatty acids, Gudzune said. She also said the researchers were not able to draw conclusions about mortality or heart problems such as heart attacks. 'At least in the short term, this strategy seems to be as effective as the high-dose statin alone, although there were two major caveats: We don't know much about side effects and we don't know about long-term effectiveness,' said Gudzune, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins. Taking a high-dose statin by itself also lowered LDL levels. Kimberly Gudzune said combining a low-dose statin with either a so-called bile acid sequestrant or Zetia ( ezetimibe) - both of which are medications that also work to lower cholesterol levels - lowered 'bad' ( LDL) cholesterol. Scientists at Johns Hopkins reviewed published research to compare the benefits and harms of a lower-intensity statin when combined with one of several other cholesterol-lowering treatments in adults at high risk for heart disease. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) - A new analysis suggests that people at high risk for heart disease who can't take high-dose statin drugs to lower their cholesterol might benefit from a treatment combination that includes taking a low-dose statin.

Low intensity statin