Simulation of lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) intensification in very high-risk patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

Abstract

We aim to estimate the number and proportion of very-high risk patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) who would be able to achieve low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) <70 mg/dL with various lipid-lowering therapies (LLTs), including statins, ezetimibe, bempedoic acid, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors, and evinacumab, using a Monte Carlo simulation model described previously. With current treatment options for LDL-C lowering, including statin, ezetimibe, bempedoic acid, and PCSK9 inhibitors, it was estimated that most very-high risk patients with ASCVD (99.1%) were able to achieve the LDL-C goal of <70 mg/dL. Nevertheless, approximately 88,715 patients in the USA were estimated to not be able to achieve the LDL-C goal after current available LLTs, thus remaining at elevated risk for recurrent cardiovascular events. Evinacumab may be useful to address such unmet needs effectively, as the majority of those not at goal after PCSK9 inhibitors could achieve the goal of <70 mg/dL after taking evinacumab.