Anti-clotting drug cuts heart attack deaths-study

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) – Thousands of deaths could be prevented
each year by giving aspirin and a drug to prevent blood clots
to patients who have suffered a heart attack, researchers said
on Friday.

Each year, 10 million people worldwide have a heart attack.
Aspirin is a standard emergency treatment but Dr Zheng-Ming
Chen and scientists at the University of Oxford in England
found that adding the drug clopidogrel could save lives.

Clopidogrel, which is marketed under the name Plavix and
sold by Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb is the world’s
fourth biggest-selling drug.

“If early clopidogrel therapy was given in hospitals to
just 1 million of the 10 million patients who have a heart
attack every year then it would, on present evidence, prevent
about 5,000 deaths and 5,000 non-fatal reinfractions (repeat
heart attacks) and stroke,” Chen said in The Lancet medical
journal.

The researchers compared the impact of the drug against a
placebo, or dummy pill, on 45,800 patients treated for heart
attacks at 1,250 hospitals in China.

In patients who received 75 milligrams of the drug daily,
in addition to an aspirin or other treatment for 4 weeks, there
were 7 percent fewer deaths than in the placebo group and a 14
percent drop in repeat heart attacks.

ROUTINE TREATMENT

“These data show that it would be very reasonable to use
this routinely on top of aspirin. It produces a modest but
worthwhile benefit and the data show it is very safe,”
Professor Rory Collins, a co-author of the study, said in an
interview.

“It should be at least considered routinely in the
emergency treatment of heart attack in hospital.”

The drug is complementary to aspirin but works in a
different way. Only about two weeks of treatment with the drug
would be needed so the costs would be small.

“It is easy, effective and safe,” Collins added.

The British Health Foundation said the research is the
latest of several studies showing the benefits of the drug for
patients with vascular disease.

“Its use is already well established for patients with
unstable angina and this study confirms that it is safe and
effective also in heart attacks,” said Professor Jeremy
Pearson, associate medical director of the foundation, in a
statement.

The researchers also found that using the blood pressure
drug metoprolol intravenously and then orally as an emergency
treatment for heart attacks reduced the relative risk of a
repeat attack but raised the odds of cardiac shock, especially
in the first day or so after being admitted to hospital.

They said the patient’s condition should be stabilised
before starting the therapy to minimise any adverse effects.

Cardiovascular disease is one the world’s biggest killers.
It accounts for 29.2 percent of total global deaths according
to the World Health Organization. About 20 million people
survive heart attack and stroke each year but many require
long-term care.

Obesity, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and raised
cholesterol are leading risk factors for the illness.