(BPT) - There are 71 million Americans living with high levels of "bad" cholesterol, also known as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), which can increase the risk for life-threatening cardiovascular (CV) events, such as heart attacks and strokes.
While statins have helped manage high cholesterol, heart disease remains a leading cause of death worldwide. There are up to 18 million high-risk patients who do not reach their LDL-C treatment goals even with a high-dose statin prescription. It's clear there is a need for advancements in treatment options.
"With more people dying of cardiovascular disease than all forms of cancer combined, it is imperative that cardiologists and the scientific community commit to finding new LDL-C lowering therapies that could potentially help millions of Americans," explained Dr. Christie M. Ballantyne, the chief of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research at Baylor College of Medicine and the director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Houston Methodist Hospital. "Heart disease is on a path to become the leading cause of death throughout the world by 2020, and by the year 2030 direct and indirect costs of CV disease could rise to $918 billion. The time to research new and effective treatment options is now."
To help test new LDL-C lowering therapies, Pfizer and other companies are sponsoring clinical trials in this area. The studies are evaluating investigational drugs and their effects on LDL-C and cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes.
For more information on Pfizer's clinical trial program, please visit http://www.spirestudies.com (http://www.spirestudies.com).
Disclosure: Dr. Christie M. Ballantyne receives research support from Pfizer.
Reader Comments(0)