Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

In a real-world cohort, people with the highest levels of lipoprotein(a) had the greatest risk for long-term major adverse CV events, regardless of whether they had atherosclerotic CVD at baseline, researchers reported.

Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. and worldwide. Atherosclerotic CVD, which is caused by plaque buildup in arterial walls, contributes to multiple life-threatening conditions.

Esperion announced the FDA granted an updated indication for bempedoic acid and bempedoic acid plus ezetimibe for the treatment of primary hyperlipidemia in eligible patients with genetic hyperlipidemia or atherosclerotic CVD.

Composite CVD risk factor control for U.S. adults with type 2 diabetes remains poor, but clinicians can use newer risk scores to better assess patients and prevent CV events with targeted therapies, according to a speaker.

Modeling data suggest using race stratification in pooled cohort equation risk calculators does not change a person’s risk for developing atherosclerotic CVD, whereas adding social determinants of health did not improve model performance.

Despite population-wide improvements in use of lipid-lowering medication and cholesterol control since 1999, significant racial and ethnic disparities persist among patients with a history of atherosclerotic CVD, researchers reported.

Statin therapy is a first-line recommendation for all adults with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or at high atherosclerotic CVD risk, yet reports show many patients cannot — or will not — take statins as prescribed.

Experts agree that whether statin-associated adverse effects are real or not matters little if a patient cannot or will not take the statin because of the symptoms they describe.

Decades of data demonstrate the benefits of statin therapy for people at high CV risk, yet many patients — particularly women — are not treated with statins.