More patients could benefit from combinations of cholesterol-lowering drugs to reduce their risk of stroke and heart attacks.
According to the authors, the study highlights a gap between current clinical guidelines and clinical practice for cholesterol management across Europe. They explain that even among patients who are already receiving optimal doses of statins, greater use of other, non-statin cholesterol-lowering drugs could help to further reduce cholesterol levels and potentially improve health outcomes for those most at risk.
The findings, which will be presented at the virtual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology 2020, are published in the journal European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Professor Kausik Ray, from Imperial’s School of Public Health, who led the DA VINCI study, said: «In order to tackle the burden of cardiovascular disease, a global approach is needed. After diet and lifestyle, cholesterol lowering with medications is a key approach to lowering risk of heart disease and strokes. Based on trial data we have compelling evidence that lower cholesterol levels benefit those at highest risk particularly.
«Though statins are first line treatment, it is clear from our contemporary study that statins alone even when optimally used will not help the majority of patients achieve European Society of Cardiology cholesterol goals. Only one in five very-high risk patients achieve 2019 recommended goals and to improve this will require use of combination therapy of more than one drug. Currently less than 10% of very-high risk patients in Europe receive some form of combination therapy, 9% with ezetimibe and 1% with PCSK9 inhibitors.»
High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol, in the blood are a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. While diet and lifestyle are important factors in reducing LDL cholesterol, many patients are at increased risk — such as those with diabetes, inherited conditions or who have previously had heart attack or stroke — and are prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, like statins, to reduce their cholesterol.
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Materials provided by Imperial College London. Original written by Ryan O’Hare. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.