Hot topics
Where next for cost-effectiveness analysis of combination LDL lowering therapies?
Reports from the 15th Virtual Closed Scientific Expert Meeting of the Editorial Board Professor Dhruv Kazi
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Low lipoprotein(a): Is there any potential risk?
Reports from the 14th Virtual Closed Scientific Expert Meeting of the Editorial Board Dr Anne Langsted
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Cholesterol crystals, plaque stability and ASCVD
Reports from the 14th Virtual Closed Scientific Expert Meeting of the Editorial Board Professor John Chapman
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ODYSSEY OUTCOMES: impact on hospitalisation
Prof. Anthony Wierzbicki, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals, London, UK discusses this analysis evaluating the impact of PCSK9 inhibition on hospitalisation following ACS. Most cardiovascular outcomes studies involving lipid-lowering treatment in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) focus on the time to first occurrence of…
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New ODYSSEY OUTCOMES analyses: identifying patients at highest risk likely to benefit most from PCSK9 inhibition
Carrying on with the theme of how to target PCSK9 inhibitors to the right patient, analyses from the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES study provide further insights for clinicians. These data, presented at the 2019 European Society of Cardiology Congress (31 August – 4 September, Paris, France) are…
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Coronary artery calcium in familial hypercholesterolaemia
Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score may have a role in stratifying short-term risk in patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH, inherited high cholesterol), according to a new study. The authors suggest that this noninvasive approach may have value in targeting treatment with a PCSK9 inhibitor to…
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Guidance needed on LDL lowering in very high-risk patients
With the advent of the PCSK9 inhibitors, reduction in LDL cholesterol levels far beyond current guideline targets is achievable. This scenario, however, has also created a quandary for clinicians. Do high and very high-risk patients at guideline-recommended goal gain additional benefit from lowering LDL cholesterol…
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Adverse effects of long-term statin therapy: New statement from the EAS Consensus Panel
Clinical trials have clearly proven the efficacy and short-term safety of statin treatment. But, with people taking these medications lifelong, are there any adverse effects to consider in the longer-term? Are reports from the media about statin treatment oversensationalized and therefore skew the reporting of…
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PCSK9 inhibition and neurocognitive effects:Weighing up the evidence
Whether lowering LDL cholesterol levels has detrimental effects on cognitive function has long been a concern with statins (1). Recently, attention has also focused on the PCSK9 inhibitors. Professor François Mach (Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland) discusses what is known from the latest trials. Evidence from…
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Statin intolerance – 50% higher risk of recurrent heart attack in statin intolerant patients
Debated in the literature (1-3), statin intolerance is very much a hot topic at the moment. This new report highlights the detrimental effects on cardiovascular outcome in patients with statin intolerance. Statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS) are the most common clinical manifestation of statin intolerance. The…
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VIDEO: Access to PCSK9 inhibitor treatment: NLA survey provides important pointers
Professor Dean G. Karalis (Director of Preventive Cardiology, Pennsylvania Hospital, USA) discusses the issues and how to counter these. FOURIER and SPIRE-2 have clearly shown the benefits of lowering LDL cholesterol beyond current targets in very high risk patients. However, from a routine practice view,…
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Does PCSK9 inhibition have a role in HIV dyslipidaemia?
With HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) patients in developed countries living longer, appropriate management of cardiovascular risk factors, notably dyslipidaemia, becomes more of an issue. But is this also the same in developing regions? As a consequence of developments in HIV management, HIV patients in developed…
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Are very low LDL-C levels on a PCSK9 inhibitor safe?
One of the key concerns of clinicians is whether the very low LDL cholesterol levels attained on a PCSK9 inhibitor are safe. Such concerns have been sparked by a recent meta-analysis which suggested a signal for adverse neurocognitive effects (1). These concerns were investigated in…
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FOURIER doesn’t disappoint: Amgen announces positive topline results
Amgen has confirmed that the much-awaited FOURIER (Further Cardiovascular OUtcomes Research with PCSK9 Inhibition in Subjects with Elevated Risk) trial showed that treatment with the PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease on optimized statin…
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Bococizumab exits the PCSK9 stage: A response from PCSK9 Forum Editors
Pfizer announced on Tuesday, 1st November that it was discontinuing development of bococizumab, its PCSK9 inhibitor. According to the press release, the Company stated that: ‘The totality of clinical information now available for bococizumab, taken together with the evolving treatment and market landscape for lipid-lowering…
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Optimal treatment in children with FH urgently needed!
Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH, inherited high cholesterol) is the most common inherited cause of premature coronary heart disease, affecting about 1 in 200-250 people (1). This means that worldwide, one baby is born with FH every minute. Therefore, diagnosing children with FH earlier, so that lifestyle…
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Insights from Chile: Rodrigo Alonso, Clínica Las Condes, Santiago de Chile
The Healthcare Perspective in South America
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Insights from Brazil: Raul Santos, InCor-University of Sao Paulo
The Healthcare Perspective in South America
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Outcomes data are critical
The Healthcare System Perspective in Europe: Francois Mach, University of Geneva, Switzerland
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