New cholesterol-lowering pill reduces risk of heart attack and stroke

Patients affected by the disabling side effects of taking statins have run into trouble thanks to a new cholesterol-lowering pill that reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The drug, bempedoic acid, was given the go-ahead by NHS spending watchdogs last year after early data showed it was safe and lowered harmful cholesterol by up to 25 per cent.

This leads to a 13 percent lower rate of serious cardiovascular events, including fatal and nonfatal heart attacks and strokes, according to groundbreaking research findings unveiled this weekend.

When looking at heart attacks alone, the risk reduction was 23 percent and patients taking the daily tablet were 19 percent less likely to need stent or heart bypass surgery.

All 14,000 volunteers in the study were statin intolerant – suffering from muscle pain and weakness, which affects a significant minority taking the tablets.

Patients in the study reported no muscle problems and few other side effects from the new pill.

The data was announced to a packed audience of international heart experts at the American College of Cardiology conference in New Orleans.

Cardiologist Professor Kausik Ray, who led the UK arm of the international study at the Imperial Clinical Trials Unit in London, said: ‘This is big news – we knew that bempedoic acid was safe and lowered cholesterol. Now we know that it prevents heart attacks and strokes.’

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death, killing 180 people a day in Britain.

High cholesterol is a major risk factor, affecting up to 60 percent of adults. Experts say statins remain the gold standard for lowering cholesterol – lowering levels by up to 50 per cent, cutting heart risk in half and costing just £20 per patient, per year.

For those who cannot take them, the best effects will be seen when bempedoic acid is combined with other cholesterol-lowering benefits.

Prof Ray calls it “frustrating” when patients can’t take statins. “It means we may not be able to lower cholesterol enough.”

“By adding bempedoic acid to the mix, with other cholesterol-lowering drugs, we’ve cut some patients’ cholesterol readings in half, with no side effects, which is great. Bempedoic acid is the fifth drug we have now that targets cholesterol. There is no magic to any of them – lowering LDL [harmful cholesterol] in any way prevents heart attacks, strokes and other disabling cardiac events.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death, with 180 deaths per day in Britain (stock image)

“It’s about how early we catch patients, how low we get their levels and for how long. The sooner, lower and longer the better.’

Bempedoic acid can be prescribed by general practitioners, meaning those who need it don’t have to wait for an appointment with a heart specialist.

Married father-of-two Peter Eggle, 73, has been taking bempedoic acid for the past 18 months and feels “fantastic.” “My cholesterol is the best it’s ever been,” he says.

The former pub owner from Uxbridge, west London, suffered a heart attack in 1994 and was put on statins but had to stop due to muscle pain and weakness.

He was on other drugs, but his cholesterol remained high and he suffered a mild stroke in 2019.

Now, thanks to bempedoic acid, his cholesterol levels were well within healthy limits last week.

“I’ve had no side effects and it helps to know I have a lower risk of heart attack or stroke,” he says.