Those receiving bempedoic acid had greater reduction in LDL cholesterol and significantly lower incidence of composite of major adverse cardiovascular events
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, March 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Treatment with bempedoic acid is associated with a lower risk for major adverse cardiovascular events among statin-intolerant patients, according to a study published online March 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, held from March 4 to 6 in New Orleans.
Steven E. Nissen, M.D., from the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues conducted a double-blind randomized trial involving patients with or at high risk for cardiovascular disease who were unable or unwilling to take statins owing to unacceptable adverse effects. A total of 13,970 patients were randomly assigned to either bempedoic acid (6,992 participants) or placebo (6,978 participants). Patients were followed for a median of 40.6 months.
The mean low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level was 139.0 mg/dL in both groups at baseline. The researchers found that the reduction in the level of LDL cholesterol was greater with bempedoic acid than placebo by 29.2 mg/dL after six months, with a 21.1 percent reduction in favor of bempedoic acid. The incidence of a primary end point event (four-component composite of major adverse cardiovascular events) was significantly lower with bempedoic acid versus placebo (11.7 versus 13.3 percent; hazard ratio, 0.87), as were the incidences of a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal stroke, or nonfatal myocardial infarction; fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction; and coronary revascularization (hazard ratios, 0.85, 0.77, and 0.81, respectively).
“The observed lower incidence of cardiovascular events suggests that bempedoic acid is among the medications that lower the LDL cholesterol level and have clinically meaningful cardiovascular benefits,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including Esperion Therapeutics, which manufactures bempedoic acid and funded the study.
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