Science / Medicine : Enzyme for Heart Attacks

In a study expected to encourage wider use of a new heart attack treatment, doctors reported Wednesday that an enzyme that dissolves blood clots appears to increase the chances of survival for victims of first heart attacks.

The doctors at Green Lane Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, studied 219 heart attack victims and found that the enzyme streptokinase reduced the 30-day mortality rate in victims of first heart attacks by 81%.

The study offers strong new evidence of the effectiveness of the naturally occurring enzyme and suggests how the drug helps patients survive heart attacks, according to Dr. Thomas Ryan, chief of cardiology at the Boston University Medical Center.