In a first for both the medical and scientific communities, a drug has proven to help prevent heart attacks by slowing down inflammation – a novel way of approaching the condition than lowering blood cholesterol.
People who took the medication also turned out to have lower cancer death rates, particularly from lung cancer, CBS News reports. In addition, there is the possibility that the drug has an anti-tumor effect, although this particular aspect needs more research.
The results on the drug, called canakinumab, open many doors, according to doctors. Many heart attacks occur in patients with normal cholesterol levels, whose primary risk is chronic inflammation leading to blocked arteries.
Dr. Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, lead author on the study, said,
We suddenly know we can address the inflammation itself, the same way we learned almost 25 years ago that we could address cholesterol. It’s very exciting.
Ridker consults for pharmaceutical company Novartis, which sponsored the research.
Statins that lower bad cholesterol have long been the focus of preventing heart attacks, along with lifestyle changes regarding smoking, blood pressure control and diet. However, around 25% of people who suffer a heart attack will likely have another one in five years, with inflammation as the suspect in half those cases.
Inflammation sets is when a joint is injured and swells, but the same response can happen throughout the body due to unhealthy habits. This chronic inflammation can destroy the arteries and lead to blood clots.
This study tested canakinumab in 10,000 heart attack survivors who had low cholesterol but high levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, or CRP. The patients were given the usual heart medicines, and either canakinumab or placebos every three months.
The patients who took a medium dose had a 15% lower risk of another heart attack, stroke or heart-related condition in the next four years. These results are significant as inflammation is a factor in how cancers grow and spread, allowing doctors the hope that this drug might possibly slow the growth of tumors.
The study was presented at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Barcelona, and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet.
