If different genes lower 'bad' cholesterol in different ways, they all reduce heart disease risk just as much for each point the cholesterol goes down—suggesting it's the cholesterol drop itself that protects the heart, not some side effect of the drugs.

People born with a certain gene that lowers their bad cholesterol their whole life have a lower risk of heart disease than what we'd expect from cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins — meaning starting early and keeping cholesterol low for longer might protect the heart better.

People who naturally have a broken PCSK9 gene — which keeps their bad cholesterol low their whole life — are much less likely to get heart disease, and this seems to be true for people of many different backgrounds.

People born with a certain gene change that breaks the PCSK9 gene tend to have much lower 'bad' cholesterol their whole lives and are far less likely to get heart disease — so scientists think blocking this gene with medicine might help protect others' hearts too.

People born with certain gene changes that lower their bad cholesterol over their whole life have a lower chance of heart disease — the more their cholesterol is lowered, the lower their risk.

Black adults with a certain genetic mutation have much lower bad cholesterol and are way less likely to get heart disease over 15 years — this shows that keeping cholesterol low from an early age could really protect your heart, even if you're at higher risk.