Ezetimibe/Simvastatin

What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?

Talk to your healthcare provider prior to taking ezetimibe/simvastatin if you have:
 
  • Liver disease or liver failure
  • Kidney disease or kidney failure
  • Any allergies, including allergies to foods, dyes, or preservatives.
     
Let your healthcare provider know if you:
 
Also, tell your healthcare provider about all other medicines you may be taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
 
(Click Precautions and Warnings With Ezetimibe/Simvastatin to learn more, including information on who should not take the drug.)
 

How Does It Work?

The simvastatin component works by blocking a particular enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) that controls the rate of cholesterol production in the body. This causes the liver to make less cholesterol and also increases the liver's ability to collect and get rid of LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol).
 
The ezetimibe component is part of a class of drugs called cholesterol absorption inhibitors. As the name implies, ezetimibe blocks the absorption of cholesterol from the intestines into the blood. By doing this, less cholesterol enters the body. It is unique in that it works just at the "brush border" of the small intestine. Because less cholesterol is delivered from the digestive tract to the liver (which depletes the liver's stores of cholesterol), the liver reacts by taking cholesterol out from the blood, which reduces blood cholesterol levels.
 
Because of the effects of simvastatin and ezetimibe, the combination medication decreases the following forms of cholesterol and fats:
 
The medication also increases HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol).
 

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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;
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