FDA approve fish oil drug for cardiovascular disease
18 December, 2019
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have recently approved a drug derived from fish oil as an adjuvant therapy for people at risk of experiencing cardiovascular events.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of deathTrusted Source among adults in the United States.
In fact, every 37 seconds, one person dies due to a cardiovascular event in the U.S.
For this reason, it is important to try to prevent poor cardiovascular outcomes in people at risk. Elevated triglyceride levels, which are a marker of blood lipids (fats), are one key risk factor to look out for.
Last week, the FDA issued a statementTrusted Source explaining that they had approved the use of a new drug as an adjuvant therapy to help prevent cradiovascular disease in adults with triglyceride levels of 150 milligrams per deciliter or higher, which count as elevated levelsTrusted Source.
The drug, Vascepa, comes in capsule form. Its main active ingredient is eicosapentaenoic acid. This is an omega-3 fatty acid extracted from fish oil.
As per the FDA recommendations, doctors should only prescribe Vascepa to those with abnormally high triglyceride levels and as an additional therapy to the maximum tolerated dosage of statins. These are the drugs that people usually take to keep their cholesterol levels in check and minimize cardiovascular risk.
"The FDA [recognize that] there is a need for additional medical treatments for cardiovascular disease," says Dr. John Sharretts, the acting deputy director of the Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
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