title: Impact of Atorvastatin Combined with Ezetimibe for the Treatment of Carotid Atherosclerosis in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to investigate the impact of atorvastatin (Ato) combined with ezetimibe (Eze) for the treatment of carotid atherosclerosis in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and forty-eight CHD patients with carotid atherosclerosis were divided into the control (Ato alone) and combination (Ato and Eze) groups. The treatment course was 12 months; patient blood lipids, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and carotid plaque area were measured before and after treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twelve months after treatment, there was a decrease in the CIMT, and the horizontal and vertical axes of the carotid plaque areas in both groups, compared to pretreatment values. The serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). There were statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the LDL-C (2.12 ± 0.58 mmol/L vs. 2.63 ± 0.56 mmol/L) and CIMT (1.06 ± 0.12 mm vs. 1.13 ± 0.11 mm) levels between the combination and the control groups after treatment. Compared to the control group, the horizontal (0.18 ± 0.06 cm2vs. 0.19 ± 0.05 cm2) and vertical carotid arterial plaque areas (0.40 ± 0.15 cm2vs. 0.41 ± 0.17 cm2) of the combination group were reduced after treatment. However, the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of Ato and Eze further reduces LDL-C levels and CIMT, and affect the progression of carotid atherosclerosis in CHD patients with hypercholesterolemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology.
authors.forename: Lixia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou 450003, China.
authors.forename: Haohui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology.
authors.forename: Guanggong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology.
authors.forename: Shoukun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ding
keywords: Atorvastatin; Carotid atherosclerosis; Ezetimibe