Colchicine Falls Short in Preventing Repeat CVD Events
Inflammation plays a role in cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, and previous data suggest that the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine may reduce the risk of these events. However, in a recent study, the drug failed to lower this risk in 7,062 individuals who had already experienced a heart attack. Researchers randomly assigned these people to begin treatment with colchicine or a placebo shortly after their heart attack and continue for an average of three years. During this period, 9.1% of the colchicine group and 9.3% of the placebo recipients experienced the study’s primary endpoint (a composite of stroke, death from CVD, repeat heart attack or unplanned revascularization), the study found (New England Journal of Medicine, online Nov. 27, 2024).
