Cleveland (JAMA) - Are you taking cholesterol medicine? Statins lower your bad cholesterol, known as LDL. But raising your good cholesterol, the HDL, can be just as important for cutting your risk of a heart attack.
Now, a new study finds an experimental drug can do just that.
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic tested the drug.
Steven E. Nissen, M.D., Cleveland Clinic, "This new drug was able to raise levels of 'good' cholesterol, of HDL cholesterol, by nearly 130 percent. The drug was also able to lower levels of the bad cholesterol LDL by 36 percent."
The drug did not raise blood pressure, which has been a concern for drugs in this class, and it didn't cause abnormal side effects. It will now be studied in a larger group of people to see if it should be added to widely used statin drugs.
