Heart attacks are one of the top causes of death in the United States.
Most treatments today try to break down blood clots after they’ve already formed, but this can come with serious side effects, like too much bleeding.
Now, researchers at Georgia Tech have found a new way to stop blood clots from forming in the first place, using a drug that’s already on the market.
The drug is called N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), and it’s been used for years to treat people who have taken too much acetaminophen (also called paracetamol). It’s safe, low-cost, and easy to get. Scientists now think it could also help prevent heart attacks and strokes by stopping clots before they even form.
Since NAC is already approved for other medical uses, doctors could begin using it for heart health much faster than brand-new drugs, which take years to get approved.
In a new study published in a medical journal, researchers showed that NAC completely prevented blood clots from forming. This could be a game-changer for people who have already had a heart attack and are at risk of having another one. It could also help people who are at high risk of strokes or other problems caused by clots.
To understand how NAC works, it helps to know how clots form. When an artery gets hurt, the body sends a protein called von Willebrand factor (VWF) to help stop the bleeding. This protein normally stays coiled and quiet.
But when needed, it uncoils, becomes sticky, and grabs tiny blood cells called platelets. This stickiness helps the body stop bleeding, but it can also create dangerous clots inside healthy blood vessels.
Most current drugs focus on stopping platelets from clumping together. But these drugs can raise the chance of serious bleeding, which is dangerous.
David Ku, a professor at Georgia Tech, explained the problem clearly: “Doctors are stuck. We can give you a drug to stop a heart attack, but it might also cause harmful bleeding.” That’s why Ku and his team searched for a better solution.
They found that NAC works by breaking down the VWF protein before it becomes sticky. Past studies had looked at NAC as a way to break down clots after they formed, but this new study shows that it can stop clots from starting at all.
At Georgia Tech’s research lab, the team used a model that mimicked a narrowed artery. This is the kind of blood vessel that often leads to heart attacks.
They tested how blood flowed through this model and found that NAC completely blocked clot formation. Then, they tested it in mice and saw the same result—no clots, and no increase in bleeding.
Even more exciting, NAC continued to protect the arteries for six hours after it had already left the bloodstream. This means its benefits can last, even after the drug wears off.
In the future, NAC could be used in hospitals right after someone has a heart attack to lower the chance of a second one. It could also become a daily pill that people take to lower their overall risk of heart attacks or strokes.
The drug might even help prevent other problems like embolisms—blockages in blood vessels caused by clots.
The research team hopes to start clinical trials in humans soon and apply for FDA approval to use NAC in this new way.
Because NAC is already known to be safe and is easy to get, this discovery could help people much sooner than other drugs still being developed.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about root cause of heart rhythm disorders and Warning signal from the kidneys can predict future heart failure risk.
For more about heart health, please read studies about a surprising link between alcohol drinking and heart health and both blood pressure numbers can predict heart disease risk.
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