Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in every cell in our bodies.
While we need it to stay healthy, having too much cholesterol can be harmful. It can build up in the walls of our arteries and raise the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Our hormones help control how fats and proteins move through the body, and doctors often prescribe medications to help manage cholesterol levels.
The most common treatment for high cholesterol is a group of drugs called statins. Statins work by blocking the liver from making too much cholesterol, especially the “bad” type called LDL cholesterol.
While statins help many people, they’re not perfect. Some people experience side effects like muscle and joint pain and can’t take them. Others may need more help lowering their LDL levels than statins can offer.
That’s where a new medication called bempedoic acid might help. Recent research shows it could be a strong alternative for people who can’t take statins. This drug was studied in a big trial called the CLEAR Outcomes Trial, which looked at patients who couldn’t tolerate statins.
The study, shared at the Endocrine Society’s ENDO 2023 meeting in Chicago, found that bempedoic acid lowered LDL cholesterol by an average of 21%. It also cut the risk of serious heart problems—like heart attacks and strokes—by 13%.
At first, it wasn’t clear if the benefits of bempedoic acid were as good as those of statins. But later analysis showed that people who took bempedoic acid had a similar drop in heart risks as people who took statins for the same amount of LDL reduction.
This discovery could help people all over the world. Heart disease is still the top cause of death and illness globally. Dr. A. Michael Lincoff, one of the study’s leaders and a researcher at the Cleveland Clinic, said this new drug may offer real help for patients who either can’t take statins or still need to lower their LDL cholesterol more.
What’s also interesting is that bempedoic acid seems to help in much the same way as statins when it comes to protecting the heart. This is different from diabetes drugs, which don’t always have the same heart benefits even when they control blood sugar similarly.
In short, bempedoic acid may be a big step forward in treating high cholesterol. For people who can’t take statins or need extra help, this drug offers a new path to better heart health.
It’s another example of how medical research is creating more options to fight heart disease and helping more people live longer, healthier lives.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
