New research reveals a better alternative for tackling heart disease than cholesterol-lowering statins taken by millions in the US.

Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of both mortality and morbidity worldwide. Medications designed to lower cholesterol levels play a crucial role in mitigating this risk.

One commonly prescribed class of drugs, statins, effectively decreases levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Elevated LDL cholesterol poses an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Although statins work by inhibiting cholesterol production in the liver, some patients have reported experiencing muscle and joint pain as a side effect.

In recent research supported by the industry and presented at ENDO 2023, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois, a medication called bempedoic acid demonstrated the ability to reduce the occurrence of cardiac events comparably to statins. This finding suggests that bempedoic acid could potentially serve as an alternative option to widely used cholesterol-lowering medications.

These results suggest “bempedoic acid may be a valuable therapy for patients who cannot tolerate adequate doses of statins or who need to further lower their LDL cholesterol levels,” remarks co-author A. Michael Lincoff.

The research is a new analysis of the 13,970 statin-intolerant patients who participated in the CLEAR Outcomes Trial.

In the initial release of the trial’s primary findings in March, it was discovered that bempedoic acid, on average, reduced LDL cholesterol levels by 21% and decreased cardiovascular events such as heart attacks, strokes, and procedures to unblock heart blood vessels by 13%. However, it remained uncertain whether the positive impact of bempedoic acid on cardiovascular risk was comparable to the risk reduction achieved by statins, which lower LDL cholesterol to a similar extent.

The new analysis determined that individuals taking bempedoic acid experienced a diminished likelihood of experiencing a major cardiac event compared to those on a placebo. The level of risk reduction was equivalent to that observed when LDL cholesterol was lowered to the same degree using statins. This suggests that different classes of cholesterol medications offer comparable advantages for cardiovascular health, unlike diabetes drugs that may have varying effects on cardiovascular well-being despite similar improvements in blood sugar levels.

For people who don’t know: Cholesterol, an essential component for various bodily functions, is a fatty, wax-like substance present in all cells. Although the body only needs a small quantity of cholesterol to operate effectively, elevated levels can lead to the accumulation of fat in artery walls. This, in turn, increases the likelihood of heart disease and stroke. Hormones, which serve as chemical messengers within the body and play a crucial role in the endocrine system, regulate the transportation of fats and proteins throughout the body.

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