Stroke Risk May Be Reduced With Triglyceride-Lowering Medication As Adjunct Therapy

Risk of stroke can be lowered to an additional 36% in people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and already on statin medications for reducing cholesterol, with the help of a triglyceride-lowering medication – icosapent ethyl, as presented by preliminary research at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021.

“Icosapent ethyl is a new way to further reduce the risk of stroke in patients with atherosclerosis or who are at high risk of stroke, who have elevated triglyceride levels and are already taking statins,” says Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., M.P.H., lead author of the study and executive director of interventional cardiovascular programs at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart & Vascular Center in Boston.

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‘Risk of stroke can be lowered to an additional 36% in people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and already on statin medications for reducing cholesterol, with the help of a triglyceride-lowering medication – icosapent ethyl. It was also demonstrated that the risk of a bleeding stroke was very low, and no difference was found among those taking icosapent ethyl. ’

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Icosapent ethyl is a prescription medication, first approved in July 2012 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an adjunct treatment to lower triglycerides levels (higher than 500 mg/dL). And in December 2019, the FDA approved icosapent ethyl as a secondary treatment to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events among adults with elevated triglyceride levels

The drug is a highly purified form of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid. It is different in terms of purity and results they produce when compared to omega-3 fatty acid supplements available over-the-counter.

Triglycerides are types of fats (derived from food) that are carried in the blood. Levels beyond 150 mg/dL may impose the risk of cholesterol, atherosclerosis, heart diseases and stroke.

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The RDEDUCE-IT Stroke Trial

It was seen in earlier studies like the REDUCE-IT trial (an 8,000-person multinational study in 2018) that icosapent ethyl could render an additional 25% benefit in people with heart disease, diabetes, or high triglyceride levels, whose LDL (bad) cholesterol levels were already under control using statin medication.

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After the convincing results of the trial, the drug was included in the American Heart Association’s 2018 Cholesterol Guidelines. The current analysis, REDUCE-IT Stroke, was performed in the same 8,000 participants of the original REDUCE-IT trial to evaluate the impact of icosapent ethyl on stroke.

It was observed that the risk of a first fatal or nonfatal ischemic stroke was reduced by 36% for patients treated with icosapent ethyl. For every 1,000 patients treated with icosapent ethyl for 5 years, about 14 strokes were shown to be averted.

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It was also demonstrated that the risk of a bleeding stroke was very low, and no difference was found among those taking icosapent ethyl.

“Know your triglyceride levels. If they are elevated, ask your doctor if you should be taking icosapent ethyl to further reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Your doctor may also recommend that you change your diet, exercise, lose weight if needed to lower your triglyceride levels, and may prescribe a statin medication if you need to lower your LDL cholesterol levels. One study limitation is that icosapent ethyl may increase the risk of minor bleeding,” says, Bhatt.

Source-Medindia