Altering a single gene may help people lower dangerously high levels of cholesterol and other fats in the blood, according to new research presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.

The Phase 1 clinical trial of 15 people was intended to show whether the experimental gene-editing therapy was safe to use in humans.

It was, the researchers said. It was also effective: One infusion of the medicine drove down low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides by about half — an effect that could decrease patients’ heart disease risk for the rest of their lives.

“Frankly, if you’d asked me 15 years ago if we would be able to do this, I would have thought you were crazy,” said Dr. Steven Nissen, chief academic officer at the Clevela

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