Methods of treating hypertriglyceridemia

Abstract

In various embodiments, the present invention provides methods of treating and/or preventing cardiovascular-related disease and, in particular, a method of blood lipid therapy comprising administering to a subject in need thereof a pharmaceutical composition comprising eicosapentaenoic acid or a derivative thereof.

1 .- 3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . A method of reducing triglycerides in a subject having a fasting baseline triglyceride level of at least about 700 mg/dl, atrial fibrillation, and on a statin therapy, the method comprising administering to the subject about 4 g of ethyl eicosapentaenoate per day. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the ethyl eicosapentaenoate is present in a pharmaceutical composition and the ethyl eicosapentaenoate comprises at least about 96 wt. % of all omega-3 fatty acids in the pharmaceutical composition. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein about 1 g of the pharmaceutical composition is present in each of 4 capsules. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the subject has a baseline LDL-C level of about 40 mg/dL to about 100 mg/dL. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the subject is diabetic. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the subject exhibits at least about a 10% 4reduction in fasting triglycerides compared to a baseline triglyceride level. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the subject exhibits no statistically significant increase in LDL-C compared to a LDL-C level prior to initial administration of the ethyl eicosapentaenoate. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the statin therapy is a stable statin therapy. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the subject is administered the ethyl eicosapentaenoate for at least about 12 weeks. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising reducing a risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, or both in the subject.