Enliven: Clinical Cardiology and Research

Targeting Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9): A New Promising Approach for the Management of Hypercholesterolemia
Author(s): Constantine E. Kosmas

Statins remain the standard of care for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering and reduction of cardiovascular risk. However, there are still cases in which patients fail to achieve the desired LDL-C goals or are intolerant to statins due to side effects (mostly myalgias). Thus, extensive research is being conducted to identify new LDL-C lowering drugs with a favorable side effect profile, which (used alone or in combination with statin therapy) would be able to produce significant LDL-C reductions and decrease cardiovascular risk.