Does a cholesterol drug help prevent heart problems in people with diabetes who haven’t had heart disease yet?
Evolocumab to Reduce First Major Cardiovascular Events in Patients Without Known Significant Atherosclerosis and With Diabetes
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Doctors wanted to see if adding a drug called evolocumab to regular cholesterol medicine helps protect people with diabetes from having their first heart attack, stroke, or other heart problem when they don’t already have heart disease.
Surprising Findings
Evolocumab significantly reduced heart events and death in patients without known atherosclerosis
PCSK9 inhibitors like evolocumab were previously used mainly for patients who already had heart disease or severe plaque buildup. This study shows major benefits even in those without clear signs of artery damage.
Practical Takeaways
If you have diabetes and high cholesterol, talk to your doctor about whether PCSK9 inhibitors like evolocumab could reduce your heart disease risk—even if you feel healthy.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Doctors wanted to see if adding a drug called evolocumab to regular cholesterol medicine helps protect people with diabetes from having their first heart attack, stroke, or other heart problem when they don’t already have heart disease.
Surprising Findings
Evolocumab significantly reduced heart events and death in patients without known atherosclerosis
PCSK9 inhibitors like evolocumab were previously used mainly for patients who already had heart disease or severe plaque buildup. This study shows major benefits even in those without clear signs of artery damage.
Practical Takeaways
If you have diabetes and high cholesterol, talk to your doctor about whether PCSK9 inhibitors like evolocumab could reduce your heart disease risk—even if you feel healthy.
Publication
Journal
JAMA
Year
2026
Authors
N. Marston, E. Bohula, Ajay K. Bhatia, Gaetano M. De Ferrari, L. Leiter, José C. Nicolau, Jeong-Gun Park, Sabina A. Murphy, E. Walsh, L. Liu, Subodh Verma, N. Sattar, Stephen J. Nicholls, J. Lopez-Sendon, I. Gouni-Berthold, L. Tokgozoglu, R. Blankstein, M. Cyrille, Gabriel Paiva da Silva Lima, R. P. Giugliano, Marc S. Sabatine, A. Lorenzatti, M. L. Litvak Bruno, Ignacio J. Mackinnon, E. Alaguibe, G. Giunta, Oscar Romano Montaña, Daniel Vogel, Jorgelina Sala, D. Besada, Angela Romero Zarante, M. Vico, T. S. Smith Casabella, Patricia del C. Gonzalez Colaso, E. Montenegro, C. Zaidman, M. De Salvo, E. Perna, C. Majul, R. G. Garcia Duran, M. Hominal, S. Hermida, Carolina Chacón, Andrea P. Serrano, Juan P. Albisu Di Gennaro, W. Stoermann, Maria V. Mansilla, M. Koretzky, Leonardo P. Novaretto, Lilia Schiavi, Andrés Orlandini, F. Botto, Elizabeth Gelersztein, E. Blumberg, Stephen J. Nicholls, John Amerena, W. Abhayaratna, Philip Roberts-Thomson, M. Worthley, Christopher Judkins, F. Bisshop, A. Begg, David Colquhoun, K. Kostner, Ktut Arya, David Cross, A. Conradie, Jamie Morton, Peter Purnell, A. Hamilton, W. van Gaal, A. Safaa, D. Eccleston, C. Ebenbichler, Peter Fasching, U. Hanusch, B. Ludvik, Lukas Holzinger, C. Saely, Konstantin Krychtiuk, A. Kautzky-Willer, T. Stulnig, Peter Sinnaeve, Stephane Carlier, M. De Meulemeester, B. Wollaert, A. Peeters, B. Scott, Philippe Vanduynhoven, J. Verwerft, T. Sarens, Luis A. Tavares Russo, Celia R. Echeverria Sampaio, Roberto Giraldez, P. Pimentel Filho, Joao L. Cunha Borges, Miguel Nasser Hissa, Jose A. Ribas Fortes, R. Cerci, L. Nigro Maia, A. Kormann, Flavia Arantes, Gilmar Reis, José F. K. Saraiva, D. Bertolim Precoma, P. R. Ferreira Rossi, F. Giorgeto, A. Pereira, L. C. Bodanese, M. Vidotti, Raphael A. Barreto da Silva, Krassimir Cvetkov, Georgi V Todorov, V. Gelev, I. Vasilev, H. Benov, A. Goudev, A. Postadzhiyan, A. Koundurdjiev, Krastyu Penchev, V. Zhelev, M. Tokmakova, M. Milanova, Snezhanka Tisheva- Gospodinova, Valentina M Mincheva, M. Tzekova, Bojidar I Dimov, K. Hristova-Tselova, Elena Dotcheva, K. Kichukov, R. Schlosser, D. Mazer, Christian Constance, H. Bajaj, A. Baass, Jason M. Burstein, Sorin Beca, S. Henein, George M. Tsoukas, Jean Bergeron, D. Gaudet, M. Hartleib, Michael Heffernan, James Cha, Sean Peterson, C. Tailor, Hani Alasaad, I. Bata, G. Vallieres, R. Bourgeois, D. Okeefe, B. Ajala, V. Woo, Derek Yung, H. Khandwala, D. Manyari, Milan Gupta, E. Lonn, J. Udell, Y. Khaykin, P. Frana, S. Zemek, L. Sknouril, A. Schee, L. Pazdera, P. Kolečkář, E. Zidkova, Juraj Bujdák, J. Kvasnička, Vladimir Blaha, R. Urbánek, P. Reichert, I. Podpera, Petr Ďulíček, Martina Machkova, N. Fiserová, Sylva Brtnikova, Z. Pozdíšek, M. Cepelak, Vladimir Cech, M. Homza, J. Škrobáková, Lubomír Elbl, Petr Kala, L. Raclavska, Jiri Vesely, K. Sochor, Radim Kryza, D. Bartášková, J. Krupička, Jiri Matuska, Jakub Hron, M. Pirchala, L. Busak, D. Kučera, Lukáš Zlatohlávek, M. Houra, Vit Reznicek, J. Brotánek, R. Polášek, I. Pařenicová, Lumír Francek, Milan Sepsi, J. Václavík, P. Kukla, L. Kuchař, I. Karen, R. Miklik, Zbynek Kosek, N. Krarup, Henrik Kjaerulf Jensen, P. Søgaard, Tem Bendix Salkvist Jorgensen, Kristian Korsgaard Thomsen, P. Rossing, Morten Bøttcher, N. Eldrup, Elgina Kamil Thomsen, Annette Hoi Justesen, S. R. Nielsen, Jørn M. Jepsen, B. Husøy, Ivo Valter, A. Rosenthal, Liina Viitas, Marika Paumets, S. Nieminen, Joni Suomi, A. Koski, J. Kuusisto, J. Putaala, K. Nyman, Kari Kervinen, T. Rissanen, J. Hukkanen, J. Taurio, T. Strandberg, G. Montalescot, G. Lemesle, Franck Boccara, Grégory Ducrocq, M.-A. Sevestre, B. Farah, T. Fourme, F. Paillard, E. Messas, G. Barone Rochette, Alexandre Canville, Meyer Elbaz, P. Poustis, G. Cayla, Jean-Louis Georges, Fitsum Guebre Egziabher, F. Chagué, Victor Buzura, S. Charrière, P. Khanoyan, G. Rangé, E. Ferrari, B. Cariou, F. Roubille, F. Beygui, Sébastien Caudmont, I. Weigmann, Isabelle Schenkenberger, Manuela Licka, M. Marks, Katrin Borucki, Andreas J. Rieth, K. Appel, U. Kassner, U. Laufs, Andreas Wilke, C. Axthelm, F. Schaper, Martin Bergmann, K. Stach-Jablonski, J. Simon, Marcus Fischer, S. Leggewie, J. Taggeselle, S. Cremer, K. Gebauer, W. Koenig, G. Kahrmann, P. Bosiljanoff, J. Placke, M. Kollum, B. Winkelmann, K. Tsioufis, S. Patsilinakos, Georgios Liamis, Konstantinos Tziomalos, Ioannis H. Styliadis, G. Ntaios, E. Tsougos, A. Protogerou, K. Stamatelopoulos, G. Giannakoulas, Katerina K Naka, A. Karavidas, N. Katsiki, A. Milkas, E. Mavrokefalou, T. Filippatos, R. Kiss, B. Merkely, M. Harangi, K. Tóth, I. Ungi, János Tomcsányi, Zoltán Csanádi, Dániel Aradi, László Márk, Z. Zimmermann, András Papp, G. Lupkovics, A. Papp, B. Benczur, Andrea Hornyik, F. Lakatos, J. Mucsi, László Nagy, Imre Szakál, A. Mohácsi, I. Reiber, Jozsef Lippai, László Konyves, C. Hajdu, S. Hamar, Balázs Sármán, A. Szilágyi, P. Danos, G. Nagy, T. Bárány, I. Berhes, A. Nagy, P. Merlini, Giovanni Licciardello, M. D. Baldassarre, S. Berti, E. Rinaldi, G. Tocci, S. De Rosa, Andrea Palermo, N. Galiè, R. Trevisan, Gaetano M. De Ferrari, D. Trabattoni, Inga Morozova, Dace Teterovska, A. Erglis, I. Veze, I. Jasinkevica, J. Badarienė, L. Vencevičienė, R. Šlapikas, G. Urbonas, Valdas Dobilas, Danutė Strazdienė, Nora Kupstytė-Krištaponė, R. Kavaliauskiene, Enrique C. Morales Villegas, F. Aguilera Almazán, Vicente E. Ruiz Ruiz, M. A. Alcocer Gamba, Raymundo García Reza, M. O. de los Ríos Ibarra, Ismail Aksoy, F. Kauer, R. M. van de Wal, A. O. Oude Ophuis, F. Prins, Walter R M Hermans, F. Janse, S. Koudstaal, M. Emans, P. Hoogslag, G. Louis Bartels, T. Wildbergh, M. Meijs, E. Ronner, I. Westendorp, L. Kleijn, P. Dijkmans, L. Pos, S. Rasoul, J. Schaap, M. Asselman, Margriet Feenema-Aardema, R. Groutars, P. Nierop, H. Swart, Erik A. Badings, M. V. D. van der Zee, W. Remkes, J. Herrman, P. van Bergen, E. Stroes, S. Hartong, Adriaan Kooy, J. Post, M. A. van de Ree, W. Bax, F. Visseren, H. Monajemi, S. El Messaoudi, Ravee Rambharose, T. van Bemmel, Catharina R G M Daemen-Gubbels, Mazin Alhakim, B. Rensing, Rien Dekkers, A. Adiyaman, V. Paradies, Remy H H Bemelmans, Boudewijn A Hoek, R.M.F. Verkleij, Z. Bednarkiewicz, Janusz Spyra, M. Tomaszewski, M. Zabowka, W. Telec, Z. Pijanowski, Mariusz Kafara, M. Piepiorka, J. Kopaczewski, B. Grzegorzewski, Grzegorz Kania, Lukasz Wojnowski, A. Budaj, Iwona Woźniak, J. Kiełtucki, Wojciech Czochra, Lidia Pawłowicz, A. Włodarczak, E. Dułak, P. Staneta, J. Bednarski, B. Busz-Papież, B. Wożakowska-Kapłon, P. Rozpondek, M. Broncel, T. Czerski, M. Zabojszcz, K. Cieślik, Robert Glowka, Krzysztof Saminski, M. Skórski, Dariusz Surman, J. Niegowska, Piotr Napora, Piotr Karaś, E. Mirek-Bryniarska, L. Artyszuk, M. Tomaszewska-Kiecana, Joanna Biegajlo, Maciej Banach, G. Skonieczny, M. Loster, Krzysztof Chlebus, E. Jaźwińska-Tarnawska, Aleksander Żurakowski, Grzegorz Drelich, Dariusz Dudek, A. Klecha, Adam Deres, M. Dąbrowska, Jerzy Cygler, C. Aguiar, P. Matos, Helder H Pereira, Pedro Monteiro, C. Gavina, P. Azevedo, M. Vieira, R. Ferreira, Olga Azevedo, Gabriela E. Stanciulescu, Constantin Militaru, D. Vinereanu, Cristian Podoleanu, M. Spiridon, Dana Cosma, E. Pintilei, C. Crișan, L. Andrei, O. Averkov, E. Yu. Radchenko, Yulia A. Argunova, S. Berns, A. Bykov, Mikhail I Voevoda, I. Gordeev, D. Dronov, N. Veselovskaya, D. Duplyakov, M. Ezhov, K. Zrazhevskiy, Mikhail Zykov
Related Content
Claims (5)
Taking a drug called evolocumab can lower the chance of having a first major heart problem by 25% in people at high risk who’ve never had a heart attack or stroke before.
For people with diabetes who are at high heart risk but don’t yet have serious artery disease, adding a drug called evolocumab to their cholesterol medicine (statin) cuts their chance of having a first heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death by about a third over nearly 5 years.
For people with diabetes who don’t have serious artery disease, adding a drug called evolocumab to their usual cholesterol medicine lowers bad cholesterol a lot — down to 52, compared to 111 without it — after a year.
For people with diabetes who are at high heart risk but don’t yet have major artery blockages, adding a drug called evolocumab to their usual cholesterol medicine cuts their chance of heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death by about a third over nearly 5 years.
For people with diabetes but no major heart artery disease, adding a drug called evolocumab to their cholesterol medicine might lower their chance of dying over five years — 7.8% of those on the drug died, compared to 10.1% on a placebo.