Evidence on cardiovascular prevention with icosapent ethyl

Abstract

Icosapent ethyl, a highly purified ester of eicosapentoic acid, is the only omega-3 fatty acid authorized by the European Medicines Agency to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in people at risk, treated with statins and with triglyceridemia ≥150 mg/dL. This authorization comes as a consequence of the clinical benefit observed in the "Reduction of Cardiovascular Events with Icosapent Ethyl Intervention Trial", in which icosapent ethyl demonstrated - compared to placebo - a 25% reduction in the relative risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, a result consistent and independent of other variables in prespecified analyses and hypothesis generating in post-hoc analyses of several patient profiles. Although the mechanism of action for such benefit is not definitively established, it is known that it acts at different levels in the continuum of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (lipid-lowering, vascular endothelium and membrane protection, anti-inflammatory, atherosclerotic plaque stabilizing and antithrombotic effects) and that final anti-atherosclerotic action in the coronary territory has been demonstrated in the study “Effect of Vascepa on Improving Coronary Atherosclerosis in People With High Triglycerides Taking Statin Therapy”.