Important Information on Vytorin and Zetia

There has been a lot of publicity recently in the press about two drugs that are often used for treatment of elevated cholesterol, Zetia and Vytorin. The press has suggested that they might not be safe or effective and this has caused concern among many as to whether or not to continue on these medicines. We at LernerCohen want to share our thoughts with our patients on these two medicines. Drs Lerner and Cohen have recently attended a seminar with a national cholesterol expert to address this specific issue and  we do not feel there is any reason to discontinue these medicines if you are on them and doing well with good control of your cholesterol. Both the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have recommended patients continue on these medications. There is more data that will be forthcoming to help us know more about the benefits of these drugs, but based upon what we know now, we feel they are safe and effective.

The study that the newspaper reported is called ENHANCE. This study was conducted on 720 patients all of whom started with total cholesterol levels around 400 and LDL levels averaging over 300! Thus, this was a very unusual group with a severe genetic problem, not your usual type of patient with elevated cholesterol. Half of the patients were given Zocor (simvastatin) alone, 80 mg and the other half were given the combination of Zocor 80 mg and Zetia 10 mg. This combination is what makes up Vytorin. They did not look at clinical events such as heart attack, strokes, angina to compare the groups, but measured the thickness of the wall of the carotid arteries in both groups of patients. What they found was that there was no significant difference in the two groups. The cholesterol and LDL levels were lower in the Vytorin group, but this did not translate into any difference in the blood vessel thickness. What this means relative to clinical outcomes is very much undecided, but there certainly was no harm in the combination medicine, and we at LernerCohen still feel comfortable with these medications for those patients who are on them. As more information becomes available we will continue to keep our patients updated. Please feel free to discuss this with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns.

The Bottom Line: If you are currently taking either Zetia or Vytorin please continue on your medication as we believe they are safe and effective. If you have concerns please discuss them with your physician. We will keep you updated when further developments unfold.

Thank you from your team at LernerCohen Healthcare