The Study
Stroke Prevention With the PCSK9 (Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin-Kexin Type 9) Inhibitor Evolocumab Added to Statin in High-Risk Patients With Stable Atherosclerosis
This study is like a fair science experiment where people were randomly given either a new medicine or a fake one (placebo). It shows that the medicine probably helps reduce strokes in people who already have heart disease and are on cholesterol pills.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
A drug called evolocumab was tested in people with hardening of the arteries who were already taking statins. It was compared to a fake treatment to see if it helped prevent strokes.
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.
- 1Yes, the reduction in ischemic stroke is meaningful, especially for high-risk patients, and the lack of increase in bleeding strokes makes it safer to use.
- 2Fewer people on evolocumab had strokes: 1.5% vs 1.9%.
- 3Specifically, ischemic strokes dropped from 1.6% to 1.2%.
- 4Bleeding strokes were the same in both groups.
- 5The drug also reduced heart problems overall.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Stroke
Year
2020
Authors
R. Giugliano, T. Pedersen, J. Saver, P. Sever, A. Keech, E. Bohula, S. Murphy, S. Wasserman, Narimon Honarpour, Hong Wang, Armando Lira Pineda, M. Sabatine
Related Content
Claims (4)
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 clogged arteries who are already taking cholesterol drugs, adding a medicine called evolocumab can help lower their chance of having a stroke.
For people with hardened arteries who are on cholesterol-lowering drugs, adding a drug called evolocumab doesn’t seem to raise their risk of bleeding in the brain.
For people with clogged arteries who are already on cholesterol drugs, adding a medicine called evolocumab helps lower their risk of heart problems — and it works pretty well even for those who've had a stroke before, though the benefit might be a bit smaller for them.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.