Potential treatment could prevent millions of annual heart failures and deaths in severe heart attack patients
A phase 2 clinical trial has shown that the drug dexrazoxane can reduce heart muscle bleeding in patients suffering from severe heart attacks. This treatment could potentially prevent heart failure and death for millions of patients globally.
Why it matters
This medical breakthrough addresses a life-threatening complication of heart attacks, offering a new standard of care for cardiac patients.
edited by Gaby Clark , reviewed by Andrew Zinin
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Add as preferred source Graphical Abstract. Credit: European Heart Journal (2026). DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag715 A clinical trial in which cardiac patients received intravenous dexrazoxane before, during and after their blocked coronary artery was reopened showed a reduction in bleeding within the heart muscle, intramyocardial hemorrhage (IMH), in adults with a severe heart attack called ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This trial was performed by clinical investigators from the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center (CIRC) at Indiana University School of Medicine.
This promising result could help prevent heart failure and death for millions of people suffering severe heart attacks around the world each year.
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