KING, Look for big gapper on this one when the news hits the
networks tonight.
Tuesday August 31, 7:37 am Eastern Time
Heart drug could save million lives a year --study
LONDON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - A drug currently being used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure could also prevent heart attacks and strokes in high-risk patients and save up to a million lives a year, doctors said on Tuesday.
Researchers who presented the results of an international trial of ramipril at a medical conference in Barcelona said the drug reduced the risk of heart attacks and strokes in high-risk patients by between 20 and 30 percent.
``If ramipril is widely used in high-risk patients, nearly one million unnecessary deaths, heart attacks and strokes could be prevented each year,' Dr Salim Yusuf of Canada's McMacster University, the chairman of the HOPE Study, said in a statement released in London.
Coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the Western world, kills about six million people each year.
Doctors who tested ramipril, a so-called ACE inhibitor, on 9,500 patients in 19 countries were so impressed by the results that they stopped the five-year trial six months early.
Ramipril is marketed by Hoechst Marion Roussel (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: HOEG.F), and in the United States by King Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:KING - news).
``We have an enormous problem across the world with coronary heart disease and stroke. Those pathologies account for virtually 50 percent of all deaths in this country,' said Dr John Kennedy, of Glasgow's Western Infirmary, who led the study in Britain.
People who survive a heart attack or stroke have an increased risk of having another attack. Doctors think ramipril can prevent future problems in these patients.
``At the time of discharge from hospital we would anticipate now that they would in future be prescribed ramipril on the basis of evidence accrued from this study,' Kennedy added.
ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors are a class of drugs that are used to lower high blood pressure. The drugs work by preventing angiotensin I, a harmless peptide, from converting into angiotensin II, which causes blood vessels to constrict and increases blood pressure.
All of the patients who took part in the study were 55 or older and had suffered previous cardiovascular conditions such as a heart attack or stroke, or had other risk factors such as diabetes or smoking which made them more susceptible to further problems.
Ramipril not only prevented subsequent heart attacks and strokes but also reduced the need for heart bypasses and other types of surgery and hospital stays. Patients who took the drug over several years also reported fewer side effects.
Hoechst Marion Roussel said it would apply for a licence for the drug to be used as a preventive measure based on the results of the study.
The findings of the HOPE (Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation) Study were presented at a cardiology conference in Barcelona. |
