A First: Drug Lowers Heart Risks by Curbing Inflammation
For the first time, a drug has helped prevent heart attacks by
curbing inflammation, a new and very different approach than lowering
cholesterol.
Many heart attacks occur in people who have normal cholesterol but high inflammation, which can lead to clogged arteries. A study tested the Novartis drug canakinumab (can-uh-KIN-yoo-mab) in heart attack survivors at risk of another one because of high inflammation.
A middle dose, given as a shot every three months, cut the risk of a repeat heart attack, a stroke or a heart-related death by 15 percent over four years.
Results were published Sunday by the New England Journal of Medicine
and Lancet, and presented at a heart conference in Barcelona, Spain.
Many heart attacks occur in people who have normal cholesterol but high inflammation, which can lead to clogged arteries. A study tested the Novartis drug canakinumab (can-uh-KIN-yoo-mab) in heart attack survivors at risk of another one because of high inflammation.
A middle dose, given as a shot every three months, cut the risk of a repeat heart attack, a stroke or a heart-related death by 15 percent over four years.
FILE - This Oct. 25, 2011 file photo shows the
logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG on one of their
buildings in Basel, Switzerland. According to results published Sunday,
Aug. 27, 2017, for the first time, a drug has helped prevent heart
attacks by curbing inflammation, a new and very different approach than
lowering cholesterol, which has been the main focus for decades.
Canakinumab's maker, Novartis, sponsored the study. (Georgios
Kefalas/Keystone via AP, File)
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