Vytorin

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Advice on Vytorin

Are you one of millions of Americans taking Vytorin? Get what you need to know about recent studies that question the effectiveness and potential health risks of the combo cholesterol pill.

By Martha Miller Johnson

Millions of Americans are taking Vytorin, despite a barrage of bad press.

Vytorin is a cholesterol-lowering pill that combines two drugs-simvastatin (sold as Zocor) and ezetimibe (sold as Zetia). In 2008, two studies made headlines. One said Vytorin is no more effective than a simple statin; the second raised questions about potential cancer risk.

More than 1 million of what is estimated to be 13 million Americans taking statin drugs were still taking Vytorin as of fall 2008, according to statistics from its manufacturer.

Kathy Marks, 55, of Northfield, Minnesota, takes Vytorin every day. She started about four years ago after receiving a stent. The drug-marketed in a catchy television ad noting that high cholesterol can come from "fettuccine Alfredo, but also from your Grandpa Alfredo"-has significantly lowered her LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and reduced her triglyceride levels. Marks first took the drug atorvastatin (sold as Lipitor), but she switched to Vytorin after experiencing side effects.

"In my world, whatever is going to give me the best quality of life is what I want," she says. "And this works."

Vytorin's manufacturer, Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, says the combo pill works because the simvastatin blocks a liver enzyme necessary for the body to make cholesterol, while ezetimibe reduces the amount of cholesterol from food that is absorbed by the small intestine.

Researchers say larger studies on the drug may shed more light down the road.