American College of Cardiology annual meeting,March 6–9, Orlando

Drug improves heart attack treatment

The hard-working duet of aspirin and a clot-buster, long the mainstays of treating a heart attack, will probably expand into a trio. The addition of Plavix, a kind of superaspirin, for a few days boosts survival rates and helps limit second heart attacks and strokes, according to two studies that included almost 50,000 volunteers from China and 23 other countries.

Plavix (clopidogrel) makes it harder for platelets to cause blood clots, which are the underlying cause of most heart attacks and strokes. Some hospitals have already been using the drug for people in the midst of a heart attack. The two studies presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting will likely increase this use of Plavix.