In a new study from the University of Shizuoka, researchers found sarpogrelate, an antiplatelet drug, has potential as a new heart failure therapy and may decrease health care costs in heart disease.
Cardiac hypertrophy is the abnormal enlargement, or thickening, of the muscles of the heart and can lead to heart failure.
The thickened cells become stiff, reducing the amount of blood pumped out to the body with each contraction of the heart (heartbeat). This cellular contraction eventually leads to the progression of heart failure.
Cardiac hypertrophy is the most common form of genetic heart disease, and it is estimated that 1 in every 500 people are affected, yet a large percentage are undiagnosed.
People with cardiac hypertrophy are at higher risk of blood clots, stroke, heart failure, cardiac arrest and other heart-related complications.
In the study, the team screened a variety of compounds that suppress cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and identified the antiplatelet medication sarpogrelate as a potential treatment
Sarpogrelate is a serotonin receptor antagonist that has been found to cause vasodilation, or widening of the blood vessels, as well as reduce cell damage.
This study examined the effects of sarpogrelate on cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and the development of heart failure in mice.
The team found at the end of the eight-week study period, the mice who received 5 mg/kg of sarpogrelate daily were much less likely to develop heart failure.
Further analysis showed that the higher dose of sarpogrelate suppressed the increase in ventricular wall thickness and other measures of cardiac hypertrophy, such as the ratio of heart weight to body weight.
These findings suggest that this approved antiplatelet medication may strongly suppress cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and the development of heart failure.
The team says sarpogrelate may be an effective, low-cost agent for heart failure therapy. More research is needed to understand the mechanisms of this medication.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about even slightly higher blood pressure can increase your heart disease risk and findings of high blood pressure can lead to this heart rate disease.
For more information about heart disease, please see recent studies about how to control your cholesterol effectively to prevent heart attacks and strokes and results showing that this common food may strongly increase heart disease risk.
The study was present at the American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions 2021. One author of the study is Kana Shimizu, M.S., B.S.Pharm.
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