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Review
. 2022 Jul 20:18:555-566.
doi: 10.2147/VHRM.S275739. eCollection 2022.

PCSK9 Inhibitors in the Management of Cardiovascular Risk: A Practical Guidance

Xiaoming Jia  1 , Mahmoud Al Rifai  1 , Anum Saeed  2 , Christie M Ballantyne  1 , Salim S Virani  1   3
Affiliations
Review

PCSK9 Inhibitors in the Management of Cardiovascular Risk: A Practical Guidance

Xiaoming Jia et al. Vasc Health Risk Manag. .

Abstract

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors are potent medications in the toolkit for treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. These agents have been well studied in clinical trials supporting their efficacy in dramatically reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and impact on cardiovascular outcomes. Since the approval of commercial use for PCSK9 inhibitors in 2015, we have also gained significant experience in the use of these therapeutics in the real-world setting. In this article, we review current guideline recommendations, clinical trial evidence on efficacy and safety as well as data on cost-effectiveness, prescription and adherence. We focus primarily on the monoclonal antibody class of PCSK9 inhibitors in this review while also touching on other types of therapeutics that are under development.

Keywords: CVD prevention; PCSK9 inhibitor; lipids.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Christie Ballantyne reports grants from Akcea, Amgen, Arrowhead, Esperion, Ionis, Novartis, Regeneron, personal fees from Althera, Amarin, Amgen, Arrowhead, AstraZeneca, Denka Seiken, Esperion, Genentech, Gilead, Illumina, Matinas BioPharma Inc, Merck, New Amsterdam, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Regeneron, Sanofi-Synthelabo, outside the submitted work. Dr. Salim Virani reports Grant support: Department of Veterans Affairs, World Heart Federation, NIH, Tahir and Jooma Family Honorarium: American College of Cardiology (Associate Editor for Innovations, acc.org). The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pros and cons of PCSK9 inhibitor use in the real-world setting.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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