Cholesterol is something the body needs, but having too much of it can be dangerous. When cholesterol builds up in the arteries, it can block blood flow and raise the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Doctors often prescribe statins to help lower high cholesterol. Statins work by reducing the amount of cholesterol made by the liver, especially LDL cholesterol, also known as “bad” cholesterol.
Statins are very effective, but they don’t work for everyone. Some people get muscle or joint pain and have to stop using them. Others may take statins but still have high cholesterol levels that need more help.
A new medication called bempedoic acid is now offering hope to people who can’t take statins or need extra help lowering their cholesterol. Recent research presented at an Endocrine Society meeting in Chicago has shown positive results.
The study, funded by Esperion Therapeutics (the company that makes bempedoic acid), looked at how the drug worked for people who had trouble with statins. The results were promising: bempedoic acid lowered LDL cholesterol by about 21%. It also cut the risk of serious heart problems like heart attacks and strokes by 13%.
One of the big questions was whether bempedoic acid could protect the heart as well as statins do. The researchers found that when cholesterol levels dropped the same amount, people taking bempedoic acid had a similar drop in heart disease risk as those taking statins.
This is a big discovery because heart disease is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
Dr. A. Michael Lincoff from the Cleveland Clinic, a key researcher in the study, said that heart disease is a major global issue and that bempedoic acid gives doctors another helpful option. For people who can’t tolerate statins or need more help to manage their cholesterol, this new drug could be life-saving.
The development of bempedoic acid is an exciting step forward in the fight against heart disease. It means more people may be able to control their cholesterol and lower their risk of serious heart problems.
This progress shows how important medical research is. As scientists keep discovering new ways to treat high cholesterol and prevent heart disease, more people will have access to safe and effective treatments.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that vitamin K helps cut heart disease risk by a third, and a year of exercise reversed worrisome heart failure.
For more health information, please see recent studies about supplements that could help prevent heart disease, stroke, and results showing this food ingredient may strongly increase heart disease death risk.
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