Pharmaceutical labels may soon be printed for a new heart drug that aims to cut the number of secondary cardiac arrests in patients who have already suffered one.

It was announced today (June 13th 2011) at the British Cardiovascular Society's annual conference that researchers from the University of Sheffield's Department of Cardiovascular Science have been looking into the benefits of ticagrelor over the traditional clopidogrel.

They insisted that five deaths per year could be prevented if ticagrelor is made available in the UK and prescribed, as it is as effective on the over-75s as it is on younger people.

"Our new findings really highlight the universal applicability of the treatment," said Professor Robert Storey.

He recommended that it should be approved by healthcare officials as soon as possible in order to give heart attack patients the best chance of survival in the long term.

A European Heart Journal study recently published by HealthDay found that people who become very anxious about death in the days after a heart attack are more likely to suffer from inflammation that could cause another one.

Denny Bros Ltd, 14 June 2011