Cardiologists face a perplexing situation regarding a drug that was expected to prevent heart attacks. Until recently, they believed they were approaching a breakthrough in heart disease treatment.
Three pharmaceutical companies were conducting extensive clinical trials on experimental drugs targeting Lp(a), a blood protein thought to contribute to heart attacks and strokes. Physicians eagerly anticipated these results, hoping the drug would be as significant as statins.
Novartis, the first to complete its trial, announced the results after market hours last Friday. The drug successfully reduced Lp(a) levels by 80 percent but did not prevent heart attacks and strokes. Cardiologists were taken aback by this failure.
“There’s something we don’t understand here,” stated Dr. John Alexander, a cardiologist affiliated with Duke.
Often, cardiologists treat patients who suffer heart attacks despite having low cholesterol and blood pressure, no diabetes or obesity, and who do not smoke. However, these patients frequently exhibit high Lp(a) levels.
Elevated Lp(a) levels affect about 20 percent of Americans. Those with the highest concentrations can face double or triple the risk of heart attacks.
Given this data, Lp(a) clearly plays a critical role. Cardiologists had hoped that a drug reducing Lp(a) levels could provide these patients with a protective option.