Cleveland Clinic - The Big 6 Heart Medications

Cleveland Clinic - The Big 6 Heart Medications

Physicians today have an arsenal of medications they can prescribe to help their patients in the battle against heart disease. If you are a heart patient, you can expect to be taking one or more of these highly effective medications.
As a heart patient, it’s important for you to understand what each medication does and how to use them safely, often in combination. When used appropriately and according to the proper prescription, these medications extend both quantity and quality of life by preventing heart attacks and strokes.
Modern heart drug therapy includes the following “big six” medications:

1. Statins — to lower LDL cholesterol

Statins were first introduced in 1987 and doctors now have seven different medications from which to choose depending on a patient’s need. They lower the “bad” LDL cholesterol levels by 20 to 60% and also reduce inflammation. Most people who have had a heart attack or stroke, bypass surgery, stents, or diabetes should be taking statins. Some patients with a high LDL level, but without heart disease, should also take statins.

2. Aspirin — to prevent blood clots

Aspirin has been around for a long time and was first discovered to have cardiovascular benefits in the 1960s. Aspirin can help to keep your arteries open because of its anti-clotting and anti-platelet effects. A standard dosage for heart patients is 81 mg a day, which is one baby aspirin. Aspirin makes sense for people who already have heart disease, but not necessarily for people who just have risk factors.

But cardiologist Leslie Cho, MD, advises “we should emphasize that it’s really not recommended for primary prevention unless the ischemic benefit outweighs the bleeding risk.”

3. Clopidogrel — to prevent blood clots

This drug is considered a “super-aspirin” because of its effectiveness in preventing platelet clumping, and it’s often used in combination with aspirin. For some patients there is an increased risk of bleeding and doctors will weigh the benefits versus the risks of this drug. However, if you have a stent, the combination of aspirin and clopidogrel is essential to preventing clotting. It’s also often used for patients with worsening angina.

Dr. Cho says if you’ve had acute coronary syndrome, a better option might be Ticagrelor or Prasugrel, however.

4. Warfarin — to prevent blood clots