Strokes happen when blood flow to your brain stops. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. There are two kinds of stroke. The more common kind, called ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain.
FDA approves new drug to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke in high-risk patients
The Food and Drug Administration has announced its approval for the Merck heart attack and stroke prevention drug, NEW DRUG for high-risk patients who have never suffered from a number of prior conditions.NEW DRUG (vorapaxar) tablets are the first in a new class of drug known as protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) antagonists. These drugs, designed to reduce platelets’ ability to clump together and form into clots, reduce the user’s overall chance for stroke and heart attack while increasing his or her chance for bleeding. The FDA’s approval comes with a mandate that all Boxed Warnings carry this risk.
In trials,new drug was found to reduce death rates from cardiovascular trauma, including peripheral artery disease (PAD), by 17 percent over the three years it was studied. The drug, if used correctly, could offer consumers who have already suffered heart complications a considerable sense of comfort in their later years, Dr. Eugene Braunwald, who supervised the FDA’s study of the drug, told Fox Business.“A new treatment option like NEW DRUG is an important advance that can help to lower that risk for appropriate patients taking aspirin, clopidogrel, or both,” he said.
The FDA advises physicians and health care professionals to caution patients about their increased risk for bleeding and bruising, and that they should report to their doctor any excess bleeding or the presence of blood in their stool or urine following taking new drug.Following the 25,000-subject trial, the FDA now recommends new drug to any person who is considered “high-risk,” meaning he or she has already sustained a heart attack or other form of blockage to the heart.
