For over 100 years, heart attacks have been the number one cause of death in the United States. Most treatments today try to break up blood clots after they’ve already formed. But scientists at Georgia Tech have found a way to stop these clots from forming in the first place—and they’re using a cheap, common drug that’s already available in hospitals.
This drug is called N-acetyl cysteine, or NAC for short. It’s been used for years to treat people who overdose on acetaminophen (Tylenol).
But now, researchers have found that NAC can do something else: it can prevent blood clots from forming at all. And unlike many blood thinners or anti-clotting drugs, NAC doesn’t increase the risk of bleeding, which is a major side effect of current treatments.
Blood clots can cause serious problems like heart attacks, strokes, and even sudden death. They form when platelets—tiny cells in the blood—stick together. One of the key players that helps platelets clump is a protein called von Willebrand factor, or VWF.
Think of it like a ball of yarn. Most of the time it stays tightly rolled up. But in damaged blood vessels, it unrolls and becomes sticky. That’s when it starts trapping platelets and building a clot.
Current drugs often try to stop the platelets themselves. But that approach is risky because it makes it harder for your blood to clot when you actually need it—like when you get a cut. This can lead to too much bleeding.
According to Professor David Ku, who led the Georgia Tech study, it’s a tough trade-off: “We can give you a drug that might help prevent another heart attack, but it could also cause a lot of bleeding.”
So, Ku and his team tried something different. Instead of going after the platelets, they focused on VWF. If they could stop that protein from becoming sticky in the first place, maybe they could stop the clot before it even got started.
That’s where NAC came in. It turns out NAC can break the links that hold the VWF protein together when it unravels. That means VWF can’t grab the platelets, and the clot doesn’t form.
The team tested this idea using a special device that mimics how blood flows through narrowed arteries. This is important, because narrow or damaged arteries are where clots are most likely to form. In this test, NAC completely stopped clotting.
The researchers then tested it in mice and saw the same thing. Even more impressive, NAC’s effects lasted for six hours—longer than the drug itself stayed in the blood.
This discovery could change the way doctors treat patients who are at high risk of another heart attack. Right now, these patients are usually given strong blood thinners, which come with the danger of serious bleeding.
But a quick injection of NAC could offer the same protection without that risk. In the future, people at risk of heart attacks or strokes might even be able to take NAC daily as a pill to keep their arteries clear.
Because NAC is already approved for other medical uses and has a strong safety record, it might become available for this new use faster than brand-new drugs. The team hopes that clinical trials will start soon, and they’re working toward getting approval from the FDA.
If all goes well, this could be a game-changer for millions of people. It could help prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other life-threatening conditions caused by clots—without the dangerous side effects of today’s treatments. For now, this discovery offers a simple but powerful hope: stopping heart attacks before they even begin.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and scientists find how COVID-19 damages the heart.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about Aspirin linked to higher risk of heart failure, and results showing Blackcurrants could improve artery functions, blood pressure in older people.
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