Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is more commonly referred to as bad cholesterol. High levels of LDL have been linked to an increase risk of heart disease and stroke as well as other medical conditions. There are a variety of reasons why some people have high levels of LDL. In many people, it’s due to diets high in fried foods, red meats, processed meats and bad carbs. It can also be due to a sedentary lifestyle. For many other people, it’s all due to their genetics.

For example, a good friend of mine has had high bad cholesterol levels well over 300 for years. He has had several heart attacks and died on a couple of occasions, but was resuscitated. He was placed on a strict diet to control his cholesterol, but it never went down. His doctors had to place him on a regime of drugs (statins) to help lower his cholesterol level.

On the other hand, my dad has eaten a diet rich in cholesterol, such as having bacon and eggs fried in the bacon grease, every morning for years. He also used the bacon grease in other cooking and yet his bad cholesterol level was below the recommended level.

For both my friend and my dad (and me), cholesterol levels are largely controlled by genetics, and I’m thankful for to have the same genetic trait as my dad.

For my friend, most of the statin drugs failed to lower his bad cholesterol level enough to take him out of the constant danger of having another heart attack. He is not alone as many people are in the same situation where the statins don’t work or they cannot take them. For many of them, there are not many other choices.

That’s why the news from the FDA should be welcome news for them, as reported:

U.S. regulators on Friday approved a new type of cholesterol-lowering drug aimed at millions of people who can’t tolerate — or don’t get enough help from — widely used statin pills like Lipitor and Crestor.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Esperion Therapeutics Inc.’s Nexletolfor people genetically predisposed to have sky-high cholesterol and people who have heart disease and need to further lower their bad cholesterol. The daily pill is to be taken in conjunction with a healthy diet and the highest statin dose patients can handle, the FDA said.

High LDL, or bad cholesterol, is one of the top risks for heart attacks and other problems. Studies showed that Nexletol could lower LDL by about 25% when taken alone and by an additional 18% when combined with a statin.

“This is a nice alternative” to statins, but those medicines will still be the first choice, said Dr. Christie Ballantyne, Baylor College of Medicine’s cardiology chief. He consults for Esperion and helped test the drug.

This means that there is new hope for millions of men and women suffering from high cholesterol who cannot take statins or who do not respond to statins. The new drug is projected to be available around the end of March.

Nexletol works in the liver by blocking an enzyme that is involved in the formation of LDL.

The only drawback to Nexletol is that the company is projecting a cost of about $300 per month.