Dr. Bouchard discusses “Non-Statin Treatment for LDL Cholesterol ” with Dr. John J.P. Kastelein, M.D., Ph.D., FESC. Professor of Medicine, University of Amsterdam.
Despite the 30 years of advances in lipid management and more patients being treated with a statin, approximately 70% of our patients still remain at risk of developing an ASCVD event: In the FOURIER analysis of patients with cardiovascular disease treated with a statin only or with a statin and a PCSK9 antibody (evolocumab), patients on statin only had 20% more cardiovascular events that included: MI, stroke or death. The ODYSSEY clinical trial demonstrated the benefits of another PCSK9 inhibitor, Alirocumab on a background of statin treatment in patients who experienced an MI or unstable angina episode and lowered the incidence of adverse events by 15%. IMPROVE-IT clinical trial demonstrated that the addition of ezetimibe to simvastatin was superior in preventing adverse cardiac outcomes compared to simvastatin alone with an absolute reduction of cardiac events by 2%.
LEARN MORE: Echocardiography: Past, Present, and, Future
I think I would be a very good candidate for one of these trials. Just on statin for 6 months. Bad side effects. Recent blood tests shows lower cholesterol- HDL-71.7 mg/dl – LDL, 84 mg/dl. But Lipoprotein A is 260.8 nmol/L.
I am also hypertensive.
An elevated Lipoprotein A can increase the risk of heart disease. There are several centers participating in the Olpasiran, phase 3 clinical trial. You can consult clinicalTrials.gov to find a study site near you.