Antibiotics No Use In Preventing Heart Attacks

Antibiotics are not effective in preventing heart attacks, despite growing evidence that inflammation plays a key role in cardiovascular disease, researchers said on Monday. Bacteria have been found in the artery-clogging plaques of many cardiovascular disease patients, prompting several clinical trials. But scientists have failed to show that fighting these infections with antibiotics can prevent heart attacks. Christopher Cannon, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, said negative results from two new major studies -- each involving more than 4,000 patients -- had effectively closed the door on the idea. Details of the two studies, which involved Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) drug Tequin, or gatifloxican, and Pfizer's (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Zithromax, or azithromycin, respectively were presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.

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