Statin Therapy

Alirocumab reduced the relative risk for major adverse CV events in patients after ACS regardless of background statin treatment, researchers found in the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial.

Although statins increase exercise muscle injury and may reduce exercise training response, they appear to be safe in athletes, a presenter said.

Patients with peripheral artery disease were less likely to be treated with statin therapy compared with those with cerebrovascular disease or CHD despite having a high risk for atherosclerotic CVD events, researchers found.

Recent reports of how drone delivery of automated external defibrillators for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was feasible in simulations for faster CPR initiation was the top story in cardiology last week.

Bempedoic acid with maximally tolerated statins safely decreased LDL compared with placebo among patients with hypercholesterolemia, researchers found.

Statin initiation in older U.S. veterans free from atherosclerotic CVD at baseline reduced the risk for CV and all-cause mortality, researchers found in a retrospective cohort study.

The prevalence of myocardial injury in acute COVID-19 is low, but its presence was significantly associated with worse outcomes, researchers reported.

Management of lipids and residual CV risk has been a primary focus in cardiology for decades, and new data in this area are encouraging. Much emphasis has been placed on the use of therapies including PCSK9 inhibitors, statins and ezetimibe to achieve target LDL levels. But controlling LDL does not always control CVD risk, and because some patients are not able to achieve LDL and other targets on existing therapies, new options are needed.

In a study of patients admitted to the cardiology unit at a single center, those with current or past cancer were less likely to be using certain cardioprotective medications than those without cancer, researchers reported.

Icosapent ethyl therapy provides robust cardiovascular benefits in statin-treated adults with type 2 diabetes, with large relative and absolute risk reductions in first and total CV events, study data show.