
Dr. Cate Varney
592 posts

Dr. Cate Varney
@CateVarney
Associate Professor. UVA School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine. Obesity Medicine Director, UVA Health. OM in Primary Care & after Bariatric Surgery.







🚨 Primary Prevention Milestone in Heart Disease - - - Amgen just announced topline results from VESALIUS-CV (12,000 patients, 4.5 years follow-up): ➡️ Adding Repatha (evolocumab) to statins or other LDL-lowering therapy significantly reduced major CV events in adults without prior heart attack or stroke. ➡️ First PCSK9 inhibitor to show outcomes benefit in primary prevention, not just secondary. ➡️ No new safety signals reported. Why it matters: 🔹Every 40 seconds, a heart attack or stroke occurs in the U.S.—and 75% are first-time events. 🔹Prior PCSK9 trials (FOURIER, ODYSSEY) proved benefit after ASCVD events. 🔹VESALIUS-CV could shift the treatment paradigm to earlier use for high-risk adults who remain above LDL-C targets (<70 mg/dL) despite statin ± ezetimibe. 👀 What to watch for at #AHA25 (Nov 8): 🔹Absolute risk reduction & NNT 🔹Subgroup effects (diabetes, baseline LDL-C, Lp(a)) 🔹Cost-effectiveness & payer adoption 💡 Bottom line: If confirmed at AHA, this trial could expand PCSK9 use from “after the first event” ➡️ “preventing the first one” in carefully selected high-risk adults. 🔗prnewswire.com/news-releases/…



More than 2 decades since GLP-1 drugs were introduced, we still don't know why people with diabetes lose about half as much weight as those without diabetes at the same dose nature.com/articles/s4136…







🔥 Obesity is not a behavior. Let that sink in. It’s not about eating too much, exercising too little, or lacking willpower. It’s a chronic, complex condition driven by biology, environment, and genetics—not simple “choices.” Let me explain. 1/10









