New anti-clotting drug Brilinta, developed by AstraZeneca, has produced promising results over its efficacy and safety in a clinical trial. Led by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School cardiologist Dr. Marc Sabatine, the study involved over 21,000 individuals in 31 countries. The drug was administered in all of them and survival rate after a heart attack within the last three years was 100% for all of them.

Sabatine said the benefits of the drug were found to be consistent in the individual components of heart health events and in all the major subgroups of patients.

Experiencing a heart attack often increases the chances of another, said Dr. Kirk Garratt, director of interventional cardiovascular research for Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC. Researchers have long known that the risk could be reduced by using medicines like Brilinta and low-dose aspirin for over a year or so, but the clinical trial has showed that continuing dual anti-clotting therapy for up to three years is much more effective.

The bleeding, according to Garratt, was higher with longer treatment, but the rates did not present a big risk to worry about.

The risk of cardiovascular event was reduced the highest, 15%, by administering 90-mg Brilinta. “It’s also nice to see that a somewhat lower dose of 60 mg produced as much benefit as the higher 90-mg dose. Even though bleeding rates weren’t very different between these doses, clinicians will be happy to have access to a lower dose”, said Garratt.

Approval has already been granted to Bilinta to treat acute coronary syndrome, a form of heart disease. However, some side-effects are also associated with its use, which leads 5% patients to discontinue taking it due to shortness of breath and 7% due to bleeding.