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17/08/2001
Breakthrough drug could dramatically reduce heart disease
A combination of heart drugs could help save 10,000 lives each year in the UK, say scientists.
The treatment, costing £1 per day is especially significant for Northern Ireland, which has some 7,000 people dying from heart disease each year in Northern Ireland, one of the worst records of coronary heart disease in the western world.
A study at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, has suggested one in five heart attacks, strokes or deaths from heart disease could be prevented by using the new drug.
They found the drug Clopidogrel (Plavix) had excellent results when teamed with the standard therapy of aspirin.
Speaking about the results, doctors involved in the trials have described the new drug combination as the biggest step forward in the treatment of coronary heart disease for 20 years.
A quarter of a million people in the UK die each year from heart disease, which accounts for 40 per cent of all UK deaths and costs the UK economy £10 billion a year.
But doctors say the new treatment of one Clopidogrel and one aspirin tablet could mean an extra lease of life for the daily cost of just £1 a day.
Plavix, which was co-developed by Sanofi-Synthelabo and Bristol-Myers Squibb, has been available in the UK since 1998 for patients with coronary heart disease.
But the study showed patients suffering from unstable angina or a suspected heart attack recovered best when the drug was combined with aspirin.
Scientists from the Clinical Trials and Evaluation Unit at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Trust teamed up with colleagues from McMaster University, Canada to study 12,000 patients from 28 countries. (AMcE)
The treatment, costing £1 per day is especially significant for Northern Ireland, which has some 7,000 people dying from heart disease each year in Northern Ireland, one of the worst records of coronary heart disease in the western world.
A study at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, has suggested one in five heart attacks, strokes or deaths from heart disease could be prevented by using the new drug.
They found the drug Clopidogrel (Plavix) had excellent results when teamed with the standard therapy of aspirin.
Speaking about the results, doctors involved in the trials have described the new drug combination as the biggest step forward in the treatment of coronary heart disease for 20 years.
A quarter of a million people in the UK die each year from heart disease, which accounts for 40 per cent of all UK deaths and costs the UK economy £10 billion a year.
But doctors say the new treatment of one Clopidogrel and one aspirin tablet could mean an extra lease of life for the daily cost of just £1 a day.
Plavix, which was co-developed by Sanofi-Synthelabo and Bristol-Myers Squibb, has been available in the UK since 1998 for patients with coronary heart disease.
But the study showed patients suffering from unstable angina or a suspected heart attack recovered best when the drug was combined with aspirin.
Scientists from the Clinical Trials and Evaluation Unit at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Trust teamed up with colleagues from McMaster University, Canada to study 12,000 patients from 28 countries. (AMcE)
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01 February 2002
UK coronary heart death rate drops by 10 per cent
Coronary Heart Disease deaths have dropped by a staggering 13,000 cases in just two years in the UK according to the latest figures from the British Heart Foundation. Better medicines and improved surgical techniques taken together with a decrease in smoking have contributed to the 10 per cent decline - but an estimated 2.
UK coronary heart death rate drops by 10 per cent
Coronary Heart Disease deaths have dropped by a staggering 13,000 cases in just two years in the UK according to the latest figures from the British Heart Foundation. Better medicines and improved surgical techniques taken together with a decrease in smoking have contributed to the 10 per cent decline - but an estimated 2.
14 November 2024
New Defence Heritage Record Launched
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has welcomed the launch of a new Defence Heritage Record, a comprehensive resource detailing over 4,500 sites constructed across Northern Ireland in response to World War One and Two, as well as the Cold War.
New Defence Heritage Record Launched
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has welcomed the launch of a new Defence Heritage Record, a comprehensive resource detailing over 4,500 sites constructed across Northern Ireland in response to World War One and Two, as well as the Cold War.
11 February 2011
Know Risks Of Heart Attacks, Says Mayor
A leading medical charity is urging men and women in their 30s and 40s to pay more attention to their heart health because they are failing to share in the downward trend of deaths from cardiovascular disease.
Know Risks Of Heart Attacks, Says Mayor
A leading medical charity is urging men and women in their 30s and 40s to pay more attention to their heart health because they are failing to share in the downward trend of deaths from cardiovascular disease.
31 May 2002
Lottery health funding programme welcomed
Three of the biggest killers in the Province are to be targeted in the latest round of £13.5 million funding from the National Lottery. The programme, which will build on the work of projects under the New Opportunities Fund’s Healthy Living Centre and Cancer programmes, will focus on coronary heart disease stroke and cancer; and palliative care.
Lottery health funding programme welcomed
Three of the biggest killers in the Province are to be targeted in the latest round of £13.5 million funding from the National Lottery. The programme, which will build on the work of projects under the New Opportunities Fund’s Healthy Living Centre and Cancer programmes, will focus on coronary heart disease stroke and cancer; and palliative care.
30 October 2019
NICHS: New Eye Test May Detect Heart Conditions
Groundbreaking research carried out in Northern Ireland is on the cusp of creating a high street eye test that detects heart conditions.
NICHS: New Eye Test May Detect Heart Conditions
Groundbreaking research carried out in Northern Ireland is on the cusp of creating a high street eye test that detects heart conditions.
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:It will be cloudy again throughout the day. Mainly dry in the morning, but patchy drizzle in places, becoming more widespread and persistent in the afternoon. Freshening southwesterly winds. Maximum temperature 12 °C.Tonight:Cloudy with a spell of heavy rain pushing south through late evening and the early hours, followed by some clear spells. Minimum temperature 6 °C.
