A widely used and affordable medication for gout might also help reduce heart attacks and strokes in people with heart disease.
This surprising benefit comes from a new review published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
The drug is called colchicine. It has been used for years to treat gout, a condition that causes joint pain due to the buildup of uric acid. Colchicine works by lowering inflammation in the body. Since heart disease is often linked to ongoing low-level inflammation, scientists wondered if this gout medicine could also help people with heart problems.
To find out, researchers reviewed 12 high-quality clinical trials. These studies involved nearly 23,000 people who had a history of heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes.
The participants took low doses of colchicine—0.5 mg once or twice a day—for at least six months. Most people in the studies were men, and their average age ranged from 57 to 74 years old.
Half of the patients took colchicine, and the other half received either a sugar pill (placebo) or no extra treatment beyond their usual care. The results showed that people who took colchicine were less likely to have another heart attack or stroke.
For every 1,000 people who took colchicine, there were about nine fewer heart attacks and eight fewer strokes. Although some people did have mild stomach or digestive issues, these side effects were not serious and usually didn’t last long.
Dr. Ramin Ebrahimi, one of the study’s lead authors from the University of Medicine in Greifswald, Germany, said the effect is meaningful.
He explained that among every 200 people with heart disease, colchicine could prevent around two heart attacks and two strokes. Even small reductions like this can have a big impact on patients living with long-term heart risk.
This is especially exciting because colchicine is a cheap and well-known drug. Dr. Lars Hemkens, the senior author from the University of Bern in Switzerland, said the research shows how older medicines can be used in new ways to help people.
These kinds of discoveries are important because they don’t rely on expensive drug development and can benefit patients sooner.
However, the review also pointed out that some questions remain. It’s still unclear whether colchicine can help people live longer or reduce the need for surgeries like stent placement or bypass. The studies also didn’t show whether the drug improved patients’ quality of life or shortened hospital stays.
In summary, this review offers hope that an inexpensive drug like colchicine could become a valuable tool in preventing future heart attacks and strokes in people with cardiovascular disease. More research is needed, but the early results are promising and could lead to a new use for a familiar medicine.
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