Scientists find way to tackle clot behind heart attack

March 17th, 2011 - 5:55 pm ICT by IANS  

London, March 17 (IANS) Thousands of lives could be saved every year, following a breakthrough in the understanding of heart disease.

Researchers have discovered that a protein known to regulate cholesterol is also linked to the formation of a type of blood clot known as thrombosis that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

They believe that by developing drugs that can control the important protein, called LXR, they will be able to prevent thrombosis and also control cholesterol levels, the journal Blood reports.

It could help the fight against heart and circulatory diseases, which kill 191,000 people a year in Britain alone, accounting for one in three deaths in the country, according to the Telegraph.

Professor Jon Gibbins from the Reading University’s Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, Britain, who led the research, said: “This ground-breaking study paves the way for new and more effective medicines to prevent thrombosis.”

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