Heart & cardiovascular
Heart and blood-vessel disease, from one-time editing of a cholesterol gene to diet-based nitric oxide. The entries differ sharply in how much outcome data exists.
3 approaches: 1 available now, 2 in human trials. Grades from A to D describe the human evidence; how we rate.
| Approach | Stage | Evidence | One-line verdict | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restoring nitric oxide — dietary nitrate (beets/leafy greens), sunlight, exerciseHeart & cardiovascular | Established, for blood pressure only | Bblood pressure RCTs | Lowers systolic blood pressure by about 3 to 5 mmHg in randomised trials, but there is no outcome data showing it prevents heart attacks, deaths or plaque. | Sep 2026 |
| Lipoprotein(a) lowering (pelacarsen / olpasiran)Heart & cardiovascular | Phase 3, outcome trials | Bsurrogate RCTs | Cuts Lp(a) by 80 to 98% in trials, but outcome trials have not yet shown that this prevents heart attacks or strokes. | Jul 2026 |
| PCSK9 base editing (Verve VERVE-102)Heart & cardiovascular | Phase 1 | Csmall Phase 1 | One infusion durably lowered LDL in a small Phase 1, but there is no heart-attack outcome data and the long-term safety of a permanent edit is not established. | Jul 2026 |
Other topics
Aging itself Cancer Brain & neurodegeneration Diabetes & metabolic All 46 entries