Adrian Davidson knew he worked too much.
He did overtime, worked weekends and took on the role of three to four managers.
"I was working really, really, really hard," he said.
And then in 2016 the Canberran had a heart attack, followed only days later by a stroke.
The Heart Foundation says heart disease kills an Australian every 18 minutes, or about 80 people a day. High cholesterol levels puts a person at a greater risk of heart attack or stroke.
Despite being "fit and healthy", Mr Davidson struggled to keep his cholesterol low enough with other medications.
He was given Evolocumab, also known by the brand name Repatha.
And while Mr Davidson considers the drug a "life-saver", one cardiologist has questioned its efficacy.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme has allowed more people to access the drug from December 1, but lowering the threshold. General practitioners will also be able to administer it.
Cardiac Society of Australia President, Professor Stephen Nicholls, said this would save lives.
"That is going to be a big deal for patients across the country, but particularly in regional and rural Australia where it can be even more difficult to get access to a specialist than it is in the city," he said.
"And in regional and remote Australia, we know that they are some of the parts of the country with the highest rates of heart disease."
Repatha is injected once or twice a month, and is suitable for people who need to lower high levels of so-called "bad cholesterol", or low-density lipoprotein.
The drug would cost someone at least $400 a month if it was not subsidised by the government, Dr Nicholls said.
Mr Davidson said he would not be able to afford it without the subsidy, which he initially used as a test patient.
"It came into PBS as prescribed by the cardiologist. And I was told then [by the chemist] that those injections were over $1000 each," he said.
"I would never have been able to afford these injections. I'm so glad that the government has taken this on and made it available, because a heart attack is one of the major killers in Australia."
However, a Canberra cardiologist has warned that Repatha is not a life-saver.
ANU clinical senior lecturer Dr Arnagretta Hunter said one study showed Evolocumab only moderately reduced the event of a heart attack or stroke after two years of treatment.
"That's not a really huge impact drug," she said.
"I think the absolute risk reduction of this particular medication is modest. It's not zero, but it's modest."
Repatha said the drug is used in combination with other lipid-lowering treatments like Statins.
They said it is an option for people who cannot reach their recommended level of bad cholesterol reduce their risk of having another cardiovascular event.
"In patients with cardiovascular disease who are taking a statin treatment, adding Repatha reduces bad cholesterol by 59 per cent and reduces the relative risk of further cardiovascular events like heart attacks or strokes by 15 per cent compared to placebo," the company said.
Dr Hunter said more improvements in things like walkability or access to healthy food would be a better investment to improve the heart health of most Australians.
"For patients with rare inheritable disorders that have very, very, very high cholesterol, it's an important drug in a difficult area," she said.
"But I'd be concerned if it became a population wide measure for reducing cardiovascular risk, when I think we can invest in a series of simpler interventions which are more effective."
Dr Nicholls said Evolocumab would still be used alongside dietary and other health measures.
"It's great news that these medications are available. That doesn't change the advice around lifestyle. Lifestyle the starting point for everything," he said.
He insisted the drug was effective in reducing heart and stroke.
"The drug lowers levels of bad cholesterol, and it does it very effectively," Dr Nicholls said.
"In the clinics, while we have really effective medications, there are still 50 per cent of patients that we can't get their cholesterol lowered effectively."
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