Science / Medicine : Heart Enlargement Treatment

A widely used blood pressure medicine appears to reduce progressive enlargement of the heart, a common and hazardous complication of heart attacks, according to a preliminary study. Heart enlargement can lead to congestive heart failure, a condition that leaves victims exhausted and short of breath.

Researchers tested the effects of captopril, one of a group of drugs known as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors used to lower high blood pressure.

“Although our study suggests that there may be a long-term benefit to treating some patients before they develop symptoms, captopril must be further evaluated before we can recommend its general use for post-heart attack patients at risk for cardiac enlargement,” said Dr. Marc A. Pfeffer of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The study was published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study was performed on 59 heart attack victims who were at high risk of heart enlargement. Over a year, further enlargement stopped in those who got captopril.