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The guided tour

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You have more options than most people hear about. Every case in this hall has the same label, so you can compare fairly. Try any of them on.

Room 6 · The Medicine Hall

What are my options?

About 4 minutes

Guess first

How many different kinds of cholesterol-lowering medicine are approved in the US today?

The Medicine Hall

7 display cases, one placard format. Try any of them on.

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Showing 7 of 7 cases.

LiverCholesterol making slowed

High-intensity statin

Slows how much cholesterol the liver makes, so it pulls more LDL out of the blood.

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Case 1 · Statin

High-intensity statin

atorvastatin, rosuvastatin and others, generic

Slows how much cholesterol the liver makes, so it pulls more LDL out of the blood.

How it's taken
Pill, daily
Typical LDL-C drop
About 50%
Average in trials. High dose: 50% or more; moderate: 30 to 49%.
Proven to cut heart attacks and strokes?
YesThe strongest evidence of any option here
Things to know
  • Muscle aches for some people, often fixed with a different statin or dose.
  • Slightly raises the chance of a diabetes diagnosis, mostly in people already close to it.
Cash price
about $5 to $15/moAt many pharmacies or discount programs
Dose to try

On you: 168 → about 84 mg/dL

GutLiverLess gets in

Ezetimibe

Blocks NPC1L1, the gut protein that lets cholesterol from food and bile into your body.

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Case 2 · Absorption blocker

Ezetimibe

Zetia, generic

Blocks NPC1L1, the gut protein that lets cholesterol from food and bile into your body.

How it's taken
Pill, daily
Typical LDL-C drop
About 24%
Average in trials
Proven to cut heart attacks and strokes?
YesWhen added to a statin
Things to know
  • Works in the gut, not the liver.
  • Adding it to a statin lowers LDL more than doubling the statin dose.
Cash price
about $5 to $15/moAt many pharmacies or discount programs

On you: 168 → about 128 mg/dL

PCSK9 caught, receptors recycle

Repatha or Praluent

Grabs PCSK9 in the blood, so the liver's LDL receptors keep recycling.

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Case 3 · PCSK9 antibody

Repatha or Praluent

evolocumab, alirocumab

Grabs PCSK9 in the blood, so the liver's LDL receptors keep recycling.

How it's taken
Shot every 2 weeks or monthly
Typical LDL-C drop
About 55%
Average in trials
Proven to cut heart attacks and strokes?
YesIn two large outcome trials
Things to know
  • The most common issue is a reaction where you inject.
  • Also lowers Lp(a) by about 20 to 30%.
Cash price
$239/moCash price, each

On you: 168 → about 76 mg/dL

1 shot a monthLiver

Lerochol

Blocks PCSK9 too, with one shot a month.

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Case 4 · PCSK9 inhibitor, monthly

Lerochol

lerodalcibep

Blocks PCSK9 too, with one shot a month.

How it's taken
Shot once a month
Typical LDL-C drop
About 56%
Average in trials
Proven to cut heart attacks and strokes?
Not yet shownNewer: less long-term outcome data so far
Things to know
  • A newer kind of PCSK9 blocker, given once a month.
  • Like other PCSK9 shots, a reaction where you inject is the most common issue.
Cash price
$199/moThrough its direct program

On you: 168 → about 76 mg/dL

Daily pillLiver

Lipfendra

A pill that stops PCSK9 from latching onto the liver's LDL receptors.

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Case 5 · PCSK9 inhibitor pill

Lipfendra

enlicitide

A pill that stops PCSK9 from latching onto the liver's LDL receptors.

How it's taken
Pill, daily, fasting
Typical LDL-C drop
56 to 59%
Average in trials
Proven to cut heart attacks and strokes?
Not yet shownNewer: approved July 2026, outcome trial still running
Things to know
  • The same idea as the PCSK9 shots, as a daily pill.
  • Taken on an empty stomach.
Cash price
about $315 to $356/moAt retail pharmacies

On you: 168 → about 76 mg/dL

Message cutLittle PCSK9 made

Inclisiran

Tells the liver to stop making PCSK9 in the first place.

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Case 6 · PCSK9 silencer

Inclisiran

Leqvio

Tells the liver to stop making PCSK9 in the first place.

How it's taken
Shot at a clinic, twice a year
Typical LDL-C drop
About 50%
Average in trials
Proven to cut heart attacks and strokes?
Not yet shownNewer: outcome trials still running
Things to know
  • Given at day 0, month 3, then every 6 months.
  • Also lowers Lp(a) by about 20 to 25%.
Cash price
Mostly through insurance

On you: 168 → about 84 mg/dL

12Bempedoic acidStatinsOn in the liverOff in muscle

Bempedoic acid

Slows cholesterol making one step before statins do, and only in the liver.

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Case 7 · Slows cholesterol making

Bempedoic acid

Nexletol; with ezetimibe as Nexlizet

Slows cholesterol making one step before statins do, and only in the liver.

How it's taken
Pill, daily
Typical LDL-C drop
About 20%
Average in trials
Proven to cut heart attacks and strokes?
YesIn people who couldn't take a statin
Things to know
  • Switched on only in the liver, so muscle aches are less of a problem.
  • Can raise uric acid (gout risk); tendon rupture has been reported.
Cash price
Varies

On you: 168 → about 134 mg/dL

A few more medicines exist for rare inherited conditions. Cash prices checked October 2026; they change, so check before you buy.

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