Drug treatments for heart disease.
If you already have heart disease, the following drugs can help prevent heart attack and stroke:
Aspirin: Aspirin thins the blood and makes it less likely clots will form in vessels which are already damaged by heart disease or diabetes. There is strong evidence that continuous low-dose aspirin reduces death rate from heart disease and stroke. The chance of a further heart attack is reduced by 31 per cent and that of a non-fatal stroke by 42 per cent, according to an analysis of major clinical trials.
Statins: The recently published Heart Protection Study in the US showed that the wider prescription of these cholesterol-lowering drugs could reduce the rate of heart attack and stroke by a third in people with diabetes and established cardiovascular disease. Significantly, the benefits were seen even among those high-risk patients with "normal" or "low" blood cholesterol levels. Statins reduce blood cholesterol levels and appear to have an added protective effect in those with established heart disease.
Beta blockers: Widely used for the treatment of blood pressure and angina, beta blockers slow the heart rate and take the pressure off the heart. Beta-blocking drugs can reduce death rates and subsequent heart attack by a quarter in patients who have had a heart attack in the past.
Ace Inhibitors (the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme inhibitors work by dilating the body's blood vessels): Patients with a weakened left ventricle (one of the main chambers of the heart) - a common complaint after a heart attack - benefit from taking this class of medication. Used in the treatment of high blood pressure and heart failure, ACE inhibitors protect against further heart attack in certain groups of patients.
The Heart Protection Study shows the protective benefits of each of the above increased when all were used together.