Scientists at the Medical University of Vienna have just made a major breakthrough in their research of heart disease. They’re working on the first human trials of a vaccine that would lower cholesterol after successful studies of mice, possibly opening up a major new treatment for one of the biggest killers in developed countries worldwide.

Researchers have begun tasting the safety of this eperimental treatment in a total of 72 volunteers. They hope that this vaccine will prevent arteries from clogging from fatty deposits, a potential alternative to taking pills each day to cut the risk of stroke and heart attacks.

Of course, we are years away from knowing if the treatment will be both safe and effective. At the earliest, it would be available in six years, and it wouldn’t prevent the need for people to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. But it’s an exciting new development that could give hope to many people suffering from heart disease.

“The research published today shows that the AT04A vaccine, when injected under the skin in mice that have been fed fatty, Western-style food in order to induce high cholesterol and the development of atherosclerosis, reduced the total amount of cholesterol by 53%, shrank atherosclerotic damage to blood vessels by 64%, and reduced biological markers of blood vessel inflammation by 21-28%, compared to unvaccinated mice,” reads the statement from the European Society of Cardiology. “Furthermore, the induced antibodies remained functional over the whole study period and concentrations were still high at the end of the study.”