Drug Combo Doesn't Cut Heart Attack Deaths

Study: Clot-Buster No More Effective Than Older Drug

CHICAGO -- A new study shows disappointing results for a promising heart drug.

The drug ReoPro was considered a "super aspirin," helping to keep red blood cells from forming clots that can cause heart attacks. It was aimed at patients undergoing angioplasty, a procedure that opens clogged blood vessels.

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic combined ReoPro with an older drug that also impedes clotting, but through a different mechanism. The study looked at death rates for more than 16,000 patients in 20 countries after a year.

They found that patients who got both drugs had no lower risk of death than patients who only got the older drug.

But one researcher said patients on ReoPro had fewer repeat heart attacks in the first year. So he said it may still be useful.

The study is published in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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