What are the drugs for heart disease prevention?

Currently, commonly used drugs for the prevention of heart disease in clinical practice mainly focus on anti-thrombosis, regulating blood lipids, and improving myocardial function. There is no universal "heart-protecting drug". All drugs must be evaluated by a doctor before they can be prescribed.

The last time I met a 45-year-old salesman in the outpatient clinic, he smoked and drank all year round. He had high blood pressure and high blood lipids for five or six years. A recent physical examination revealed that he had soft plaques in the carotid arteries. He was a high-risk group for coronary heart disease. After a comprehensive evaluation, he was prescribed aspirin and atorvastatin, and asked him to check his blood lipids and coagulation function every three months.

One more thing to say here is that the primary prevention of aspirin is quite controversial in the industry. In the past, many people thought that middle-aged and elderly people could prevent heart disease by taking aspirin. However, clinical data in recent years show that for healthy people who do not have high-risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia, nor have a family history of cardiovascular disease, taking aspirin for a long time will increase the risk of gastrointestinal and cerebral hemorrhage, and the benefits are far outweighed by the side effects. Therefore, doctors are now very strict and will not prescribe this drug casually for prevention.

Statins are currently the core of lipid-lowering and plaque-stabilizing drugs. You can think of them as the "cleaners" of blood vessel walls. They can not only lower bad cholesterol, but also compact the lipid plaques that have formed, preventing plaques from rupturing and forming thrombus to block the coronary arteries. However, not everyone can tolerate them. Some people will experience muscle soreness and elevated transaminases after taking them. If this happens, don't take it hard. Just ask a doctor to adjust the dosage or switch to other types of lipid-lowering drugs.

For people who have had a myocardial infarction or have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease, they fall into the category of secondary prevention. Doctors usually add beta-blockers such as metoprolol, or RAAS inhibitors such as perindopril and valsartan. Don’t think that these are just antihypertensive drugs. They can also improve myocardial remodeling, reduce the probability of recurrence of myocardial infarction and heart failure, and are particularly beneficial to long-term prognosis.

There are also some patients with atrial fibrillation who use anticoagulants, such as rivaroxaban and dabigatran, to prevent cardiogenic cerebral infarction and myocardial infarction. They are not the same as antiplatelet drugs such as aspirin. Do not take them by yourself. The risk of bleeding will be particularly high.

Not long ago, a 70-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department. He was originally diagnosed with coronary heart disease and had to take aspirin and statins for a long time. However, after hearing from his neighbor that Panax notoginseng powder could "activate blood and protect the heart" without any side effects, he secretly stopped taking the medicine and took Panax notoginseng powder for half a year. Finally, he suffered a myocardial infarction and was sent to the hospital. Two stents were put in to save him. It was really a pity. Remember that health products can only be used as supplements at best, and they can never replace regular preventive medicine.

Of course, don’t think that everything will be fine just by taking medicine. The core of preventing heart disease is to adjust your lifestyle. Stop smoking, drink less alcohol, eat less food high in oil and salt, and take time to move every week. No matter how much preventive medicine you take, it will be more effective.