Statins are among the most commonly used drugs to treat high cholesterol. However, more than 20% of people cannot tolerate statins. For people who are intolerant to statins, it is still important to take alternative medicines to reduce cardiac deaths.
Bempedoic Acid, an alternative to statins, can reduce deaths from heart disease and heart attacks by 39%, according to a new study published in the journal Jama.
Many people who take statins stop taking them due to side effects such as muscle pain, headaches, sleep problems, increased blood creatine kinase levels and digestive problems.
Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr. Steven Nissen, who led the new study, said less than half of cholesterol patients at high risk of heart attack were not taking appropriate medications.
“What we’re seeing really amazes me. I think it’s a wake-up call for the medical community and patients that people with high cholesterol and risk factors need to be treated,” said Nissen explain.
Newest study A three-year evaluation of 4,206 statin-intolerant patients with high cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension.
six months later trialParticipants who took Bempedoic Acid daily experienced a 23.2 percent reduction in LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and a 22.7 percent reduction in blood inflammation, which is associated with heart disease and stroke risk.
The results of the study showed that participants who took Bempedoic Acid were 39 percent less likely to have a heart attack and die from it than participants who were treated with a placebo. The combined risk of death from heart attack or stroke was also reduced to 36 percent in patients treated with Bempedoic Acid.
However, statins will remain the first-line option for treating cholesterol because the Bempedo Acid drug is more expensive and further studies are needed to confirm its safety and efficacy, the researchers said.
“Statins will remain the mainstay of this therapy, as there is substantial data supporting the effectiveness of statin therapy in reducing cardiovascular outcomes as well as lowering cholesterol, which can be reduced by less than 50% with the highest-intensity statins. Dose selection,” Dr. Wesley Milks, a cardiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, told Healthline.
Published by Medicaldaily.com