loader image
Monday, October 27, 2025
81.8 F
McAllen
- Advertisement -

Cholesterol Lowering Drug Reduces Risk Before Heart Problems Arise

Cleveland Clinic research shows taking a cholesterol-lowering drug before heart problems arise can reduce risk for heart issues and death. Lead study author, Steven Nissen, comments.

Translate to Spanish or other 102 languages!

About 86 million American adults have high cholesterol but only around half are taking medicine to lower it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Image for illustration purposes

Mega Doctor News

- Advertisement -

CLEVELAND CLINIC – About 86 million American adults have high cholesterol but only around half are taking medicine to lower it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Now, Cleveland Clinic research shows taking a cholesterol-lowering drug before heart problems arise can significantly reduce risk for heart-related complications and death in high-risk individuals.

“What we saw was that people with a high cholesterol, and these were statin-intolerant patients but patients with high cholesterol, who were at risk for a heart-related event but had never had an event, had a very large reduction in their risk when they were treated with bempedoic acid, which lowers LDL cholesterol and it reduces inflammation,” said lead author Steven E. Nissen, MD, chief academic officer of the Heart Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic.

- Advertisement -

Dr. Nissen and his team performed a secondary analysis on data collected for the CLEAR Outcomes trial, which studied a cholesterol-lowering medicine, called bempedoic acid, in people who were unable to take statins.

They focused on 4,200 people who had high cholesterol and other heart risk factors, like diabetes, but hadn’t yet experienced a heart-related event.
Participants were given either bempedoic acid or placebo.

Results show, after six months of treatment, bempedoic acid reduced LDL, or ‘bad’ cholesterol, by 23%.

There was also a 30% reduction in major heart events and a 39% reduction in death from heart disease.

- Advertisement -

Dr. Nissen said the study emphasizes the importance of treating high cholesterol early before serious heart problems occur.

“Patients with high cholesterol and risk factors are undertreated in the United States. Only about half of them are actually receiving cholesterol-lowering medications, like statins,” said Dr. Nissen. “We think the message is, people that have risk factors need to discuss with their doctor whether they would benefit from taking a cholesterol-lowering medicine. That might be a statin, might be bempedoic acid, but they shouldn’t leave high cholesterol untreated because they haven’t yet had a heart-related event.”

If you’ve been told that you have high cholesterol and are not on medicine to lower it, Dr. Nissen suggests talking with your health care provider.

Complete results can be found in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -

More Articles

Alarming Rise in Severe Diverticulitis Among Younger Americans

Mega Doctor News By University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences Newswise - A...

Want to prevent another stroke? Start Moving – Safely

Having a stroke can feel overwhelming. It can paralyze limbs, interfere with speech and vision, make it harder to think or remember things. So, the thought of becoming physically active soon after having one may seem like a pretty steep hill to climb.

Tips to Improve Your Sleep as We ‘Fall Back’

As we turn the clocks back one hour on Sunday, you may also want to think about improving some of your sleep habits. Especially since nearly 40% of adults in the United States are sleep deprived.

Why You Should Avoid Doomscrolling

“Doomscrolling is when you’re so intensely focused on social media that it becomes problematic. You lose time, and you lose a sense of clarity in terms of what you’re actually reading and how it’s affecting you,” explained Adam Borland, PsyD, a psychologist with Cleveland Clinic. 
- Advertisement -
×