As some of us already might know, heart disease is one of the leading causes of death. A new combination of drugs has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol to very low levels and even has been shown in a study to shrink the plaque clogging the arteries. Logically this should reduce the risk of a heart attack because there would be less plaque which can break off to cause one.
The new drug is called a PCSK9 Inhibitor. It has been found that people missing the PCSK9 gene have very low LDL levels. The PCSK9 Inhibitor is a class of drug which mimics this and when used in combination with a statin the study has produced encouraging results.
Results:
The people who took statins and evolocumab had greater reductions in atherosclerosis compared with people who took statins and a placebo. Atherosclerosis is a disease in which plaque builds up inside your arteries. The condition can lead to serious problems, including heart attack, stroke, or even death.
Those in the study had conditions such as a clogged artery and other habits such as being smokers which means these participants were of the high risk factor variety. Some of the participants were given a placebo and some were given the PCSK9 inhibitor to test the effectiveness. The results clearly showed on the ultrasound that the plaques shrank after 18 months. Whether this alone will have a positive health effect in terms of lower heart related deaths is not yet known but it does look very positive as it does reduce the risk of a plaque breaking off and causing a heart attack if there is less plaque.