Does a cholesterol drug help prevent heart problems in high-risk people who haven’t had a heart attack or stroke?
Evolocumab in Patients without a Previous Myocardial Infarction or Stroke.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Evolocumab works powerfully even in people who’ve never had a heart attack or stroke.
Until now, PCSK9 inhibitors like evolocumab were mainly used after a cardiac event. This proves they can prevent first-time events — a major shift in prevention strategy.
Practical Takeaways
If you have diabetes or atherosclerosis and high cholesterol, ask your doctor if a PCSK9 inhibitor like evolocumab could reduce your first heart event risk.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Evolocumab works powerfully even in people who’ve never had a heart attack or stroke.
Until now, PCSK9 inhibitors like evolocumab were mainly used after a cardiac event. This proves they can prevent first-time events — a major shift in prevention strategy.
Practical Takeaways
If you have diabetes or atherosclerosis and high cholesterol, ask your doctor if a PCSK9 inhibitor like evolocumab could reduce your first heart event risk.
Publication
Journal
The New England journal of medicine
Year
2025
Authors
E. Bohula, N. Marston, Ajay K. Bhatia, Gaetano M. De Ferrari, Lawrence A. Leiter, José C. Nicolau, Jeong-Gun Park, J. Kuder, Sabina A. Murphy, E. Walsh, H. Wang, Vladimir Blaha, Andrzej Budaj, J. Cornel, A. Goudev, R. Kiss, A. Lorenzatti, A. Parkhomenko, M. Cyrille, G. Paiva da Silva Lima, E. Ohman, R. Giugliano, M. Sabatine
Related Content
Claims (4)
For people at high risk for heart problems because of diabetes or clogged arteries, taking a drug called evolocumab every two weeks can lower their chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or needing heart surgery by about 1 in 5 over nearly 5 years, compared to those who don’t take it.
Taking a drug called evolocumab every two weeks is just as safe as taking a fake pill (placebo) for people with certain heart risks — there’s no real difference in side effects after nearly 5 years.
For people with diabetes or clogged arteries who haven’t had a heart attack or stroke yet, taking a drug called evolocumab every two weeks can lower their chance of having a first heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death by about 25% over nearly 5 years.
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.