AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION DALLAS, July 23, 2019 – Patients appear to be at higher risk of heart problems or stroke when prescriptions for the newest cholesterol-lowering drugs are rejected by insurance companies or unfilled by patients, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. The drugs, PCSK9 inhibitors (PCSK9i), can...
Tag: <span>cholesterol drug</span>
Post
Patients say lack of physician guidance and fear of side effects are why they don’t take statins as prescribed
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION DALLAS, March 27, 2019 — Despite national guidelines indicating that statins can lower risk of heart attack and stroke, many patients who could benefit do not take them. More than half of eligible patients say they were never offered the cholesterol-lowering drugs; the experience of side effects or fear of side effects were reasons for stopping or refusing statins, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open...
Post
New cholesterol-lowering drug could help patients unable to take statins
A new class of oral cholesterol-lowering drug could help patients unable to take statins due to side effects. The findings come from the largest study to date to test the effectiveness and safety of bempedoic acid, an oral medication—yet to be approved in Europe—which inhibits the body’s ability to create the building blocks of cholesterol. The research, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, reports on findings from...
Post
Less than half of patients prescribed new cholesterol drug receive insurance approval
Less than half of patients received their insurer’s approval for prescriptions of PCSK9 inhibitors, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. PCSK9 inhibitors, like Repatha (evolocumab) and Praluent (alirocumab), work by increasing the removal of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol from the blood. They have been shown to reduce LDL by...
Post
The cholesterol drug that outperforms statins: Patients on the medication are ‘27% less likely to suffer a heart attack’, landmark trial shows
Patients were treated with the injectable drug Repatha as part of a two-year trial Bad cholesterol levels dropped by 60% more than those who were just on statins Experts say the ‘extremely potent’ drug could potentially save thousands of lives A powerful cholesterol drug cuts the risk of heart attacks by a quarter, a landmark...