A medicine that has been used for years to treat gout might also help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
A new Cochrane review looked at how the drug colchicine could benefit people with heart disease. The findings suggest that taking low doses of this affordable and widely used drug might prevent serious heart problems without causing major side effects.
Heart disease is still the leading cause of death around the world. One reason is that it is linked to ongoing low-level inflammation in the body.
This type of inflammation can raise the risk of having another heart attack or stroke. Colchicine is known for its anti-inflammatory effects, which is why scientists thought it might help people with heart problems.
The review included 12 carefully conducted studies that followed nearly 23,000 people who had already experienced heart issues, such as a heart attack or stroke. Most participants were men between the ages of 57 and 74.
Half of them took low doses of colchicine—usually 0.5 mg once or twice a day—for at least six months. The rest received either a fake pill (placebo) or no extra medication beyond their regular treatment.
The results showed that people who took colchicine were less likely to have heart attacks or strokes. For every 1,000 people who took the drug, 9 heart attacks and 8 strokes were avoided compared to those who didn’t take it. While some people did report mild stomach discomfort, no serious side effects were linked to colchicine.
Dr. Ramin Ebrahimi, one of the lead researchers, said that for every 200 people with heart disease, using colchicine could prevent about two heart attacks and two strokes. He noted that this small reduction could make a big difference for people who face a constant risk of heart problems.
What makes this discovery even more exciting is that colchicine is a low-cost medication that has been around for a long time. Lars Hemkens, another senior author of the study, pointed out that these findings came from public research that repurposed an old drug for a new use. This kind of research helps find new treatments that traditional drug development might miss.
Even though the results are promising, the researchers say that more studies are needed. For example, it’s still unclear whether colchicine helps people live longer, improves their quality of life, or reduces the need for heart procedures. Future research could help answer these questions and show if colchicine should become a standard treatment for heart disease.
For now, colchicine shows strong potential as an easy and low-cost way to reduce the risk of future heart attacks and strokes in people with cardiovascular disease.
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The study is published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
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