A first: Drug lowers heart risks by curbing inflammation

For the first time, a drug has helped prevent heart attacks by curbing inflammation, a new and very different approach than lowering cholesterol.

Many heart attacks occur in people who have normal cholesterol but high inflammation, which can lead to clogged arteries. A study tested the Novartis drug canakinumab in heart attack survivors at risk of another one because of high inflammation.

A middle dose, given as a shot every three months, cut the risk of a repeat heart attack, a stroke or a heart-related death by 15 percent over four years.

Results were published Sunday by the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet, and presented at a heart conference in Barcelona, Spain.