GETTING A DIAGNOSIS of high cholesterol is not fun. It requires a revamp of lifestyle basics like how you eat and making sure you’re taking medications on time. Not to mention the never-ending worry of what would happen if cholesterol levels don’t improve. Because no one wants a future filled with potential stroke and heart attacks.

Cue this radical, ingenious method that sounds like something out of The Twilight Zone. Scientists have found a way to permanently stop cholesterol from ever building up in your body. All it requires is a little snip of your genes.

Here’s what you need to know.

Turning off Two Cholesterol Genes

BEFORE YOU WRITE this off as mad science, know there is some legitimacy to a gene-editing approach. Scientists have been using a gene editing technology called CRISPR-Cas 9 for years. The tool acts as a molecular scissor where it “cuts” a certain sequence of DNA bases. It then takes advantages of the DNA repair system to replace the existing segment with a customized DNA sequence that could fix the mutation or even turn the gene off. In other words, CRISPR lets you rewrite the genetic code. CRISPR is already in use for treatments of genetic disorders such as sickle cell anemia.

Two separate studies found gene-editing a promising approach to tackling high cholesterol.

In May 2026, The New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a small phase 1b study of a drug called VERVE-102. VERVE-102 works by editing the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) gene. People with overactive versions of the enzyme liver gene, PCSK9, tend to have a harder time clearing out LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the blood. Meanwhile, people with defective versions of PCSK9 tend to have lower LDL levels, making PCSK9 a favorable target for high cholesterol.

The new drug works by making a small rewrite in the PCSK9 genetic code. The new instructions stops the gene from ever producing the PCSK9 enzyme.

Thirty-five people at risk for early heart disease or genetically have high cholesterol were given different doses of the drug to test if it was safe. There were no major side effects (the most common was a temporary increase in a separate liver enzyme, suggesting minor liver injury). Though the study was small, it did show that a single infusion of the highest dose lowered cholesterol levels by 62 percent.

In November 2025, a separate group of scientists edited a separate gene called angiopoietin-like protein 3. This gene increases cholesterol levels by inhibiting enzymes used to break down fat. Their phase 1 clinical also published in the The New England Journal of Medicine used an experimental CRISPR-Cas9 tool called CTX310 to create a mutation to make the angiopoietin-like protein 3 lose function, thereby reducing LDL cholesterol, along with triglycerides (a type of fat in the body).

Within 2 weeks, people’s LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels dropped and stayed low for at least 60 days. While the researchers originally planned to consider a 30 to 40 percent drop a success, CTX310 reduced LDL cholesterol and triglycerides by nearly 50 percent or more on average at the highest dose.

“This is a permanent change,” says Steven Nissen, MD, study co-author and chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. “It’s a one and done treatment. That’s why it’s so exciting. It allows us to permanently fix a gene.”

Heart Doctors Find “Incredible Potential” With Gene-Editing

THE GENE-EDITING approach is already getting a lot of buzz in the medical community. “There is incredible potential with this,” says Yu-Ming Ni, MD, cardiologist and lipidologist at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA. “It’s really quite amazing that you can permanently remove this as a risk factor for heart disease in one treatment.”

Cardiologist and Men’s Health advisory board member Christopher Kelly, MD, says this treatment is “approaching magic” for people with high cholesterol. “It’s definitely where the future of medicine is headed.” He adds that gene therapy is helpful in shifting away from taking daily pills.

Both gene editing therapies will move on to a phase 2 clinical trial. That will be larger and involve more participants to better study the effectiveness of the treatment. Kelly is hopeful of promising results once the technique is reviewed and approved for use. “Once the technique is perfected, the side effects will probably be minimal, since specific genes are targeted in very precise ways.”

Still, even if everything continues to go well, don’t expect your doctor to recommend custom gene therapy yet. Because CRISPR-Cas9 changes your DNA, the US Food and Drug Administration recommends long-term safety monitoring. That’s usually 15 years for CRISPR-based treatments. In other words, there’s still a long way before you can simply roll up to your doctor’s office with high cholesterol and leave with altered genes and a lower cholesterol status.

“This won’t be a treatment for everybody but, for people who are difficult to treat, the concept of a one and done treatment is attractive,” Nissen says. Ni agrees. “This could be a major game-changer,” he says.

Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.

Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, MS is the associate health & fitness for Men’s Health and has previously written for CNN, Scientific American, Popular Science, and National Geographic before joining the brand. When she’s not working, she’s doing circus arts or working towards the perfect pull-up.

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Clarkson’s Farm star Lisa Hogan is in peak physical shape, but you won’t find her spending hours in the gym. Instead, she credits her fitness to the completely accidental physical labour required to run Diddly Squat Farm.

In an official promotional interview for Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm, she explained how harvesting goods for the farm shop she owns with husband Jeremy Clarkson has transformed her routine. ‘We spent a day picking elderflower from the hedgerows, we’re always foraging: I’ve given up the gym now, being on the farm keeps me fit,’ she said.

Besides foraging, her daily farm workout consists of various functional movements like lifting heavy crates, walking miles across uneven farmland terrain, and chasing livestock (an occurrence in pretty much every episode, if you haven’t seen it). In various other press interviews, she’s also mentioned using muscles she didn’t know she had, plus covering tens of thousands of steps across the farmland.

Her active lifestyle is built on the concept of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). According to a study published in the American Journal of Physiology, NEAT represents the energy we burn doing everything that isn’t sleeping, eating, or intentional exercise (e.g. dedicated gym workouts).

The study goes on to specifically reference manual agricultural tasks, adding that a transition from a sedentary desk job to farm work like Lisa’s could naturally boost a person’s metabolic output by up to 1,200 calories per day, heavily contributing to long-term cardiovascular health, weight management and muscular endurance. This continuous, low-impact movement prevents the metabolic slowdown associated with prolonged sitting, effectively keeping Lisa fit without her even meaning to.

Of course, not everyone has access to a farm, and there are plenty of other forms of NEAT that could help increase your energy output and improve several health markers – even alongside a desk job. Some examples include:

• Washing the car
• Fidgeting
• Walking upstairs
• Walking the dog
• Carry grocery shopping
• Gardening
• Playing with children or pets
• Using a standing desk
• Walking to the gym, shops, office instead of taking public or private transport

The biggest takeaway from Lisa’s routine? That fitness might not be found in a gym, but right outside your back door.

As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.

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After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!

Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.

She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.   

Exercise has long been associated with heart health. Walk, run, swim, bike or lift on a regular basis and your risk of heart disease and stroke decreases dramatically. The rewards are almost instantaneous with a drop in blood pressure notable when you swap out time on the couch for time in the gym. That’s good news for anyone with high blood pressure, which increases the chances of adverse cardiac events.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada says about one in four Canadians have been diagnosed with hypertension. That number increases in an older demographic to 51 per cent in Canadians 60-79 years of age. 

In most cases, exercise is considered safe for anyone who is effectively managing their blood pressure through medication or changes to their lifestyle. But it’s common for health-care professionals, including many organizations like the European Society of Hypertension, American College of Cardiology and the International Society of Hypertension, to advise keeping intensity in the moderate range to avoid the added cardiac stress associated with high intensity aerobic exercise. But the science related to the risk of hypertension and physical activity was largely informed by self-reported data that, when it comes to exercise, is unreliable. Not only do people routinely fudge how often they exercise, when it comes to intensity of effort there is little uniformity in determining whether a workout is light, moderate or vigorous. 

With the growing number of studies using wearable devices to accurately track activity over the course of a full day, an increasing number of exercise recommendations are being scrutinized based on more reliable data. To find out more about the relationship between exercise intensity and hypertension, a team of Australian researchers analyzed a large cohort of adults with high blood pressure who wore an accelerometer to track their daily activity.

“Using wearables-based data, our study is among the first to investigate the potential role of cardiovascular stress-related physical activity properties (intensity and bout length) on major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with diagnosed hypertension,” the researchers said. 

The researchers arranged 38,960 U.K. residents with hypertension into groups based on exercise intensity and duration. Short bouts of exercise were defined as up to three minutes at a moderate intensity and no longer than one minute at high intensity. Long bouts were any workout over five minutes of moderate intensity and over two minutes of high-intensity exercise. Hospitalization records of the cohort were then cross referenced over an eight-year period highlighting any documentation of a stroke, heart attack or heart failure.

The results offer new insight into how different types of exercise affect the heart health of people with high blood pressure. 

The good news is short bouts (up to 60 seconds) of high-intensity exercise proved not only safe, but also offer a protective effect, with fewer cardiac events found in study participants who exercised using multiple short bouts of high-intensity exercise. But the same can’t be said for high-intensity exercise lasting more than 10 minutes. 

“Such prolonged bouts could induce adverse vascular stress and adrenal gland dysfunction, which subsequently contribute to dysregulated cardiovascular function and induce increased arterial pressure,” the researchers said. “This can damage arterial walls, leading to increased stroke incidence.”

That doesn’t mean everyone with hypertension needs to avoid longer workouts done at a higher intensity. But if it’s a struggle keeping your blood pressure in a safe range and you want to start training for a speedy 5K, you may want to consult with your physician and/or cardiologist. 

“The cardioprotective effects of physical activity in hypertension depend not only intensity, but also on the duration of the physical activity bouts,” the researchers said. 

On the flip side, if you love doing multiple short bouts of high-intensity intervals in the pool, gym or on your bike, your heart is not only likely up to the challenge, but will also benefit from being put through its paces. 

How do you know whether your workout is high or moderate intensity? Take the cue from the research team and start relying on wearables to track your exercise stats. Exercise intensity is based on heart rate response during exercise while factoring in your maximum heart rate, which is based on age, both of which can be tracked on most smart watches. 

And since smart watches keep all the historical data from your workouts you can share your heart rate’s response to exercise with your medical team and discuss the most prudent form of exercise. Cardiac events while exercising are rare, but the accumulation of stress on the heart can lead to complications down the road. The best option is to find an exercise format that improves heart health in the long and short term as well as meeting the rest of your health and fitness goals. 

“Our findings, alongside recent device-based studies focused on short bouts of high intensity activities, provide valuable insights for potentially re-evaluating treatment options for patients with hypertension,” the researchers said.