Widespread use of ticagrelor 'would dramatically cut heart deaths'
Tuesday 14th June 2011
A new drug has the potential to prevent one in five deaths from heart attack, according to a team of researchers.
If drug ticagrelor replaced standard treatment clopidogrel, one in five deaths in the year following a heart attack could be stopped, according to research presented at the British Cardiovascular Society annual scientific conference in Manchester.
Although ticagrelor has been available in the UK since December 2010, it has not yet been widely adopted due to cost concerns.
Professor Robert Storey, of the University of Sheffield, said: "These new findings provide yet further evidence in support of making the drug available to patients in the UK."
He explained that many people are "dying avoidable" due to the delays surrounding the introduction of this treatment.
In other news, heart attacks could be prevented through the use of magnets, new findings have shown.
Research conducted at Temple University discovered that exposure to a magnetic field causes thinning of human blood, preventing it from damaging blood vessels and increasing the risk of attack.
Written by Martin Lambert
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