Low LDL Levels Do Not Cause Hemorrhagic Stroke

A flawed study caused unnecessary alarm, experts say.

Published: October 30, 2019

PCSK9 inhibitors are so powerful that 10% of participants achieved LDL levels less than 20 mg/dL; 31% saw their LDL levels drop to 20 to 50 mg/dL. No safety concerns were seen in patients with these low LDL levels, and the rate of side effects was the same in the treatment and placebo groups. As expected, the number of cardiovascular events dropped as LDL levelsplummeted.