Established drug for symptoms of angina pectoris also protects vascular system

A drug used in the clinical treatment of angina symptoms also has an anti-inflammatory effect and reduces atherosclerotic plaques in blood vessels - thereby reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke. The study, led by MedUni Vienna and including access to data from Harvard Medical School, has now been published in the highly regarded journal "PNAS". A drug used in the clinical treatment of angina symptoms also has an anti-inflammatory effect and reduces atherosclerotic plaques in blood vessels - thereby reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke. The study, led by MedUni Vienna and including access to data from Harvard Medical School, has now been published in the highly regarded journal "PNAS". The complications of atherosclerosis - heart attack and stroke - are the leading causes of death in Europe and the United States. In recent years, it has been shown that chronic inflammation in the arteries leads to the formation and progression of atherosclerotic plaques (deposits in the blood vessels). The MedUni Vienna research group led by Walter Speidl (Department of Medicine II, Division of Cardiology) and Philipp Hohensinner (Center for Biomedical Research) has now demonstrated for the first time that a reduction in intracellular sodium concentration inhibits the important inflammatory modulator NF-kappa-B.