Niacin May Increase Risk of Adverse CV Events

Niacin—a cholesterol drug used for the prevention of cardiovascular disease—did not improve symptoms in patients with cardiovascular disease. Instead, niacin increases the risk of adverse cardiovascular events.

In order to test the safety and efficacy of niacin in patients with vascular disease, researchers randomly assigned 25,663 participants to either 2 g of extended-release niacin and 40 mg of laropiprant, or a matching placebo. 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Peripheral Arterial Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment
Skin Signs of Vascular Disorders
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Each participant had a mean LDL and HDL cholesterol levels at 64 mg/dL and 44 mg/dl, respectively.

During the mean 4-year follow-up period, niacin lowered LDL cholesterol levels by an average of 10 mg/dl, and increased HDL cholesterol levels by and average of 6 mg/dL. These results compared to those participants receiving the placebo.

The results showed that 9% of users had an increased risk of death. Researchers noted that the risk was of great concern even though the difference could have occurred by chance.

Researchers suggest that patients talk with their doctors about other treatment options instead of niacin.

The complete study is published in the July issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

-Michelle Canales

References:

The HPS2-THRIVE Collaborative Group. Effects of Extended-Release Niacin with Laropiprant in High-Risk Patients. NEJM. 2014 July [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1300955.