More than 9,000 patients participated in the five-year study, which was funded by ramipril’s makers, other private sources and the Canadian government. Among the findings, which will be published in the Jan. 20 New England Journal of Medicine: ramipril cut risk of heart attack by 20 percent and stroke by 31 percent. The results raise new hopes about drugs that belong to the same class. These so-called ACE inhibitors fight blood clots and prevent the body from making hormones that raise blood pressure.
Yusuf and colleagues also encountered a mystery: patients on ramipril were less likely to develop diabetes. They’re not sure why. “Prevention of heart attack and stroke is understandable,” Yusuf says, “but prevention of diabetes is novel and fascinating.” But for heart patients, ramipril’s latest use is fascinating enough.
