The Mirror attended Europe’s biggest health conference in Madrid where breakthrough research indicated heart disease patients could be switched to a new drug
A new pill has been shown to work better than aspirin at cutting the risk of heart attack.
Millions of Britons with heart disease currently take a daily aspirin to lower their risk of heart attack or stroke. Now a landmark study, published in The Lancet, has analysed seven trials involving 29,000 patients and found they could get far greater benefits from an alternative drug that costs less than 4p a day.
Switching to a different blood thinner named clopidogrel was found to cut the risk of heart attack, stroke or death by an additional 14%. A global consortium of researchers, including from Imperial College London, conclude it offers “superior protection” and say there is a strong case for making it the preferred option recommended by the NHS.
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Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: “These findings are likely to impact the medications doctors prescribe to their patients to reduce their risk of future heart problems.
“Aspirin is a commonly prescribed drug to help prevent repeat heart attacks and strokes. This research suggests that clopidogrel, an alternative to aspirin, might be more effective at preventing recurrent heart attack or stroke. Importantly, these benefits come without a greater risk of major bleeding.”
Coronary artery disease, also known as coronary heart disease, is the most common type of heart disease and affects 2.3million people in the UK. Arteries in the heart become narrowed by a build-up of atheroma, a fatty material within their walls. The pain or discomfort felt from such narrowing is called angina and if a blockage occurs it can cause a heart attack.
Patients with CAD have traditionally been put on aspirin for the rest of their life but evidence supporting its longterm benefits and safety have been limited. Blood thinners also come with a risk of internal bleeding.
The new analysis included 28,982 patients with CAD who had been taking clopidogrel or aspirin, known as antiplatelet medications. After an average of 5.5 years, those on clopidogrel were 14% less likely to have suffered a heart attack or stroke or to have died from a heart-related condition than those taking aspirin. There was no statistically significant difference in rates of major bleeding.
The findings were simultaneously published in the Lancet medical journal and presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Madrid.
Writing in The Lancet, the researchers concluded: “These results support a preference for clopidogrel over aspirin for chronic antiplatelet monotherapy for patients with stable CAD.
“The widespread availability, generic formulation, and affordability of clopidogrel further supports its potential for extensive adoption in clinical practice.”
The review identified 256 deaths or incidents of major bleeding in the clopidogrel group and 279 in the aspirin group respectively.
The NHS drug tariff indicates a 28 pack of 75mg clopidogrel tablets costs just £1.01 or 3.6p each. A same sized pack of 75mg aspirin tablets cost 69p or 2.5p each.