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Cardiovascular Outcomes for Patients Treated With Ezetimibe/Simvastatin Combination Compared With Simvastatin or Atorvastatin Alone, a study presented at AHA.

A retrospective study of data on high-risk patients suggests that cardiovascular outcomes for those treated with a combination of ezetimibe/simvastatin are similar to those treated with simvastatin or atorvastatin monotherapy.

The findings were reported on November 18 at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2009.

The investigators acquired their data from administrative claims from a health insurance plan that included commercial and Medicare clients. They analysed cohort data retrospectively comparing relative rates of clinical events (hospitalisation for myocardial infarction [MI] or stroke) among patients aged 18 to 84 years with history of MI, stroke, or diabetes who had been treated with ezetimibe/simvastatin versus simvastatin or atorvastatin.

Patients were selected during a data "identification period" of August 2004 through March 2006. They were selected based on a new prescription fill for atorvastatin, simvastatin, or ezetimibe/simvastatin during the identification period.

Simvastatin and atorvastatin-treated patients were each matched 1:1 with ezetimibe/simvastatin patients based on simvastatin daily dose equivalent and a propensity score derived from using demographic and cardiovascular risk variables. The investigators used standard statistical tools to adjust for demographics, medical history, and coronary heart disease medication use.

Source: AHA

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