Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

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.

Adults who reported climbing more than five flights of stairs daily were 20% less likely to develop atherosclerotic CVD over 12 years compared with those who reported never climbing stairs, according to data from a UK Biobank analysis.

The fully monoclonal angiopoietin-like 3 antibody evinacumab conferred sustained, long-term reductions in LDL and other atherogenic lipoproteins among patients with refractory hyperlipidemia, researchers reported.

DANA POINT, Calif. — Peripheral artery disease remains underdiagnosed and undertreated among women worldwide and efforts are needed to increase awareness, improve diagnoses and ensure patient referrals, according to a speaker.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Experimental and clinical evidence suggest the diabetes drug metformin may offer CV benefits that do not depend on the presence of diabetes, and an ongoing trial will help researchers learn more, according to a speaker.

Among veterans with atherosclerotic CVD, those from historically redlined neighborhoods had greater risk for CV events compared with those from the lowest-risk neighborhoods, researchers reported.

Agepha Pharma announced that the FDA approved a 0.5 mg dose of colchicine for reduction of CV events in patients with atherosclerotic CVD or multiple CV risk factors who have residual inflammatory risk.

Black patients who undergo coronary artery calcium scoring received less post-screening care and had more adverse CV events compared with white patients at a single center, a speaker reported.