New Approaches for the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease: Focus on Lipoproteins and Inflammation

Although numerous trials have convincingly shown benefits of statin therapy in both primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), most showed relative risk reductions of 25-40%, and thus many individuals continue to have ASCVD events despite statin therapy. Substantial progress has been made in developing therapies that address the residual risk for ASCVD despite statin therapy. In this review, we summarize progress of currently available therapies along with therapies under development that further reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins, reduce lipoprotein(a), reduce ASCVD events in patients with high triglycerides, and directly target inflammation to reduce ASCVD risk.

Automated summary

Despite the benefits of statin therapy in reducing ASCVD risk, many individuals still experience ASCVD events while on statins. Current and developing therapies aim to further reduce ASCVD risk through various mechanisms, such as lowering LDL cholesterol, reducing lipoprotein(a), and targeting inflammation directly.