Ezetimibe (Eze)

Ezetimibe  is a drug that lowers plasma cholesterol levels. It acts by decreasing cholesterol absorption in the small intestine. Ezetimibe is generally administered orally in a 10mg tablet taken once a day with or without food. Ezetimibe decreases cholesterol levels, but has not been shown to improve outcomes in cardiovascular disease patients by decreasing atherosclerotic or vascular events compared to placebo. Ezetimibe is endorsed in the Canadian Lipid Guidelines and is considered a well-tolerated option for an add-on agent to statin, to help patients achieve their LDL targets.  Ezetimibe is the only add-on to statin therapy that has successfully shown cardiovascular benefit when combined with statin, but has not been proven to have an incremental benefit compared to statins alone. That is NOT what was shown in the ARBITER 6-HALTS trial.