Overview

• A study of 36,000 Swedish heart attack patients (2015–2022) shows that starting statins and ezetimibe within 12 weeks leads to better survival and fewer cardiovascular events.
• Current treatment guidelines favor a stepwise approach, delaying combination therapy due to concerns about side effects and overmedication.
• Researchers call for global updates to clinical guidelines to prioritize early combination therapy as a standard practice.
• The study estimates that adopting this strategy could prevent thousands of heart attacks, strokes, and deaths annually worldwide.
• Ezetimibe is an affordable, widely available drug with minimal side effects, offering significant healthcare cost savings.