The Study
Bempedoic Acid and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Statin-Intolerant Patients.
This study is like a fair test where half the people got a new medicine and half got a sugar pill, and no one knew who got what. After a few years, the people who took the medicine had fewer heart problems. So we can say the medicine probably helped—but only for people who can't take statins.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested a new pill called bempedoic acid in people who can't take statins because of side effects.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 574 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1For every 100 people who took this pill instead of a placebo, about 1 to 2 fewer had a heart attack or needed heart surgery over 3 years — a meaningful benefit for those who can't use statins.
- 2The pill lowered bad cholesterol by 29 mg/dL and cut heart attacks by 23%.
- 3It also lowered the chance of heart-related death, stroke, or needing a heart procedure by 13%.
- 4But it raised the risk of gout and gallstones.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The New England journal of medicine
Year
2023
Authors
Nissen Se, Lincoff Am, Brennan D, Ray Kk, M. D, Kastelein Jjp, T. Pd, Libby P, Cho L, P. J., Bays He, Moriarty Pm, M. V., Grobbee De, Louie Mj, Chengho Cf, L. N, B. L, R. P, H. M, Sasiela Wj, M. J., Davey D, Fajardo-Campos P, P. P, Fedacko J, Zmuda W, L. Y, Nicholls Sj, Outcomes Investigators Nicholls Clear
Related Content
Claims (6)
For people who have already had a heart attack or are at very high risk for one, taking statins lowers the number of future heart attacks, strokes, or other cardiovascular events.
In people who cannot tolerate statins and have high LDL cholesterol, taking 180 mg of bempedoic acid daily for six months lowers LDL cholesterol by an average of 29.2 mg/dL compared to taking a placebo.
For people who cannot tolerate statins, taking bempedoic acid lowers the chance of having a nonfatal heart attack by 23% compared to taking a placebo.
In patients who cannot tolerate statins, taking bempedoic acid results in a higher rate of gout (3.1% vs 2.1%) and gallstones (2.2% vs 1.2%) compared to taking a placebo.
In adults who cannot take statins and are at high risk for heart problems, taking 180 mg of bempedoic acid daily for about 3.4 years reduces the combined risk of heart death, heart attack, stroke, or need for heart surgery by 13% compared to a placebo.
In patients who cannot tolerate statins, bempedoic acid does not cause more muscle-related side effects than a placebo, with 5.6% of users experiencing such events compared to 6.8% in the placebo group.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.