Sudden cardiac death is a tragic outcome of many heart attacks, claiming about 100,000 lives every year in the UK. Most of these deaths occur before emergency medical help arrives, often because the heart’s muscles don’t get enough blood due to a blocked coronary artery.
This condition, known as ischaemia, can lead to a dangerous irregular heartbeat called ventricular fibrillation (VF), which can quickly become fatal.
While some drugs, like lidocaine, have been shown to prevent VF, their severe side effects make them unsuitable for widespread use.
Lidocaine, for instance, can affect other parts of the heart and the nervous system, limiting its use to intravenous administration in hospitals. This restriction means it cannot help patients at the critical moments before they reach medical care.
Now, researchers at King’s College London have developed a promising new drug called OCT2013 that could save lives in these pre-hospital emergencies.
OCT2013 is similar to lidocaine but has a unique advantage: it remains inactive in the body until it encounters areas with low oxygen, such as the ischaemic parts of the heart during a heart attack.
This specificity allows it to target the problem area without causing unwanted side effects elsewhere.
In their study, the researchers used a heart attack model in rats to test how well OCT2013 works. They found that the drug effectively prevented sudden cardiac death by stabilizing the electrical activity of the affected parts of the heart, similar to lidocaine.
However, unlike lidocaine, OCT2013 had no impact on other parts of the heart or the nervous system, making it much safer.
The key to OCT2013’s success lies in its chemistry. The drug converts into active lidocaine only in areas of the heart experiencing low oxygen due to ischaemia.
This targeted activation means that while the drug remains inactive in healthy tissues, it delivers its life-saving effects precisely where they are needed.
The researchers believe OCT2013 represents a new class of drugs with the potential to prevent sudden death from heart attacks outside of hospitals.
If further studies confirm its safety and effectiveness in humans, this drug could address a critical gap in heart attack treatment by offering a way to protect patients in the crucial moments before they receive professional medical care.
The study, led by Dr. Mike Curtis, was published in the British Journal of Pharmacology. It offers hope for a future where fewer people lose their lives to heart attacks thanks to innovative treatments like OCT2013.
For those interested in heart health, it’s important to understand the signs of a heart attack versus a panic attack, as well as the role of regular exercise in reducing heart attack risk.
Studies have also shown that magnesium can help protect the heart’s rhythm, and heart attack survivors may have a lower likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease. This research is part of ongoing efforts to improve heart health and save lives.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies about a big cause of heart failure, and common blood test could advance heart failure treatment.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about a new way to repair human heart, and results showing drinking coffee may help reduce heart failure risk.
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