Imagine you were asked to cook a meal, but you put too much salt in it. The taste would be awful, right?
The same thing can happen in our bodies when there’s too much a fatty stuff called cholesterol. This can cause problems in our hearts and blood vessels.
So, doctors often give people a medicine called statins to reduce cholesterol. But some folks can’t take statins because it makes their muscles and joints ache.
Now, there might be a good alternative. It’s a new medicine called bempedoic acid.
What is Cholesterol?
You know how some things are good in small amounts but bad in large amounts? Cholesterol is one of those things. It’s a waxy, fat-like substance found in all our body cells.
We need a small amount for our bodies to work right. But when there’s too much cholesterol, it can stick to the walls of our blood vessels.
This is not good because it can lead to heart disease and stroke. Heart disease is when your heart doesn’t work as well as it should. A stroke is when part of your brain doesn’t get enough blood.
How Does Bempedoic Acid Work?
Bempedoic acid is a new medicine that helps lower cholesterol in our bodies. It was studied by Dr. A. Michael Lincoff and his team at the Cleveland Clinic.
They wanted to see if bempedoic acid could be a good option for people who can’t take statins.
They studied almost 14,000 people who had trouble taking statins. These people were given either bempedoic acid or a fake medicine (called a placebo) that didn’t do anything.
Then, they watched these people closely to see what happened.
What Did They Find?
The results were exciting. People who took bempedoic acid had their cholesterol levels go down by 21% on average.
They also had fewer heart problems, like heart attacks or strokes. These are scary things that can happen when your heart or blood vessels get too clogged with cholesterol.
What’s more, the risk of having a serious heart problem was about the same whether people took bempedoic acid or statins. This suggests that both medicines are about as good at protecting our hearts.
Why is this Important?
Heart disease is the top cause of death and sickness in the world. Medicines like statins and bempedoic acid help lower the risk by reducing cholesterol levels.
Dr. Lincoff said, “Medications to lower cholesterol offer an important tool to diminish this risk.”
It’s crucial to have different options for medicines because everyone’s body is different.
Some people can’t take certain medicines because of side effects, like the muscle and joint pain from statins. For these people, bempedoic acid might be a great choice.
Conclusion
Remember, our bodies are like a complicated recipe. We need just the right balance of ingredients for everything to work well.
Cholesterol is one of those ingredients. Too much of it is bad, but medicines like bempedoic acid can help keep things balanced.
This research is very important. It might help many people who can’t take statins to keep their cholesterol at a good level.
The company that makes bempedoic acid, called Esperion Therapeutics, helped pay for the study.
Keep in mind, though, that medicine is not the only way to control cholesterol. Eating healthy, getting regular exercise, and not smoking can also help keep our cholesterol levels just right.
If you care about health, please read studies about the benefits of low-dose lithium supplements, and what we know about egg intake and heart disease.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about potatoes and high blood pressure, and results showing 6 best breads for people with heart disease.
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