Orlando, Fla. — A blood thinner already used after angioplasty has been shown to be a highly effective treatment for people with ominous chest pain or mild heart attacks, and could potentially prevent 100,000 heart emergencies a year in the United States.
A major study released Monday found that the drug, called Plavix, reduced the risk of death, strokes and new heart attacks in these people by 20 percent, making it probably the most significant advance in their treatment since the introduction of aspirin.
"This is a breakthrough," said Dr. Valentin Fuster of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. "It will change the practice of medicine."
Some 2 million Americans are hospitalized with mild heart attacks and bad chest pain annually. Experts said the drug's impact will be even greater if it becomes routine treatment for the additional 1 million Americans who have full-blown heart attacks.
"Everyone will be put on this," said Dr. Christopher Cannon of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "It's relatively cheap and has monster benefits. This is what we have all been waiting for."
The study on Plavix, which was introduced in 1998, was conducted on 12,562 patients at 482 hospitals in 28 countries. The drug's only important side effect was bleeding, which Plavix triggers about as often as aspirin does.
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