New drug shows promise in preventing heart attacks

Conclusion This is a high-quality, well-conducted randomised controlled trial conducted in a very large number of people across multiple countries. To date, it's remained uncertain whether evolocumab reduces the risk of cardiovascular events. This study provides good evidence that the drug reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events in people with high LDL cholesterol levels, and with a high risk of having a cardiovascular event, who are already taking statins. The follow-up is limited to around two years, during which roughly 1 in 10 people experienced a cardiovascular event. The reduction in risk was shown to increase over time. Longer follow-up time could allow for further events and so give stronger evidence of whether there's a clear effect. Other long-term effects of having evolocumab injections still need to be established – this means ongoing follow-up and monitoring is still needed. The added burden of having regular injections as well as taking statins is another consideration. Nevertheless, this study provides hope that evolocumab can further lower cholesterol, and reduce the risk of adverse cardiovascular events, in high-risk patients who have had an inadequate response to statins. Current UK guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend that evolocumab treatment should only be funded by the NHS for people with a high risk of cardiovascular disease who also have persistently high cholesterol levels. Yo...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Heart/lungs Source Type: news