Breaking news: Inflammation Linked to Increased Heart Risk in Women Without Traditional Risk Factors
Madrid, Spain – April 9, 2025 – A new observational study reveals that even low levels of inflammation can significantly increase the lifetime risk of cardiovascular events in apparently healthy women, even those without typical risk factors like high cholesterol or high blood pressure. The findings, presented at the ESC meeting in Madrid and published in the European Heart journal, underscore the need for early identification and preventative care for women in their 40s.
Researchers defined high sensitivity inflammation as greater than 3 milligrams per liter of blood. While the study cannot prove causation, experts emphasize that chronic inflammation promotes plaque growth in arteries, plaque destabilization, and blood clot formation – all major contributors to heart attacks and strokes.
“Our data clearly shows that apparently healthy women who suffer from inflammation run a considerable risk during their lifetime,” stated Dr. Paul ridker of Mass General Brigham’s Heart and Vascular Institute. “We should identify these women in their forties, at a time when they can start preventive care, and not wait for the disease to settle in the 1970s, when it is indeed frequently enough too late to make a real difference.”
The research team leveraged data from previous randomized trials to demonstrate that statins can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by more than a third in women with inflammation but lacking conventional cardiovascular risk factors. Dr. Ridker added, “While people with inflammation should set up an aggressive lifestyle and behavioral prevention efforts, treatment with statins coudl also play an important role by helping to reduce risk in these people.”
In a related development, clinical trial data presented at the ESC meeting showed promising results for a new injectable drug, Leqvio (Inclisiran) from Novartis. The drug, administered via subcutaneous injection twice a year alongside maximum tolerated oral medications like statins, significantly reduced LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels in patients who had not responded adequately to existing treatments.
The trial, conducted across 133 medical centers in Europe with 1,770 patients, found that 84.9% of patients receiving Leqvio reached recommended LDL levels after 90 days, compared to 31% in the placebo group. After one year, LDL levels dropped an average of 59.5% with Leqvio versus 24.3% with placebo. Muscle-related adverse events were also lower in the Leqvio group (11.9%) compared to the placebo group (19.2%).Inclisiran works by blocking the production of PCSK9, a protein in the liver that hinders LDL cholesterol removal from the blood. Professor Ulf Landmesser of deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité in Berlin, the study manager, concluded that Inclisiran “represents a practical, effective and well tolerated therapeutic option for the large number of patients at risk who currently do not respond adequately to other hypolipidal therapies.”
