Almost 47 million Americans take a statin daily, and the medication can provide huge benefits.

Statins not only lower bad LDL cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke, they also lower high blood pressure, improve erectile dysfunction, and may even help prevent osteoporosis, dementia, and cancer.

But for some people, a statin doesn't bring their LDL level down in a meaningful way, or they experience side effects such as muscle weakness and pain.

Now there's a possible solution: adding an antibody (PCSK9 inhibitor) or using it in place of a statin.

Taking an antibody called alirocumab with a statin has been found to reduce plaque in the arteries twice as much as the statin alone. And when people had what are called high-risk lesions (meaning plaque that could easily rupture and cause a heart attack or stroke), the lesions transformed into medium or low risk.  

Other studies of taking a PCSK9 inhibitor by itself indicate it can decrease LDL cholesterol by up to 70% and cut the risk of a heart attack by almost one-third.

This therapy is much more expensive than a statin, but many insurance companies cover much of the cost for people who are statin intolerant or who don't see LDL levels decrease sufficiently, even if they combine their statin with Zetia (another possible solution), which blocks cholesterol absorption in the intestines.

Talk to your doctor about the appropriate therapy for you. And to prevent heart disease, check out our book "YOU: The Owner's Manual, revised."