Common and treatable cause of heart attacks is being overlooked

(NEW SCIENTIST) – Doctors are in the middle of a major rethink about the causes of heart attacks and strokes – among the commonest causes of death worldwide.

For decades, much of the focus has been on cholesterol: statin drugs, used to lower cholesterol, are the most commonly prescribed medication for preventing cardiovascular disease in the UK. But a growing number of researchers say that overlooks another key contributor: inflammation, which is linked to the background activity of the immune system.

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This week, research showed that in people taking statins to lower their cholesterol, inflammation is a bigger risk factor for heart attacks or strokes than whether they still have high cholesterol levels. “It’s clear that if you don’t start addressing the inflammatory response, you’re never going to beat this disease,” says Paul Ridker at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who was involved in the research. “It’s no longer a hypothesis; it’s proven fact.”

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