Use of MC-1 (a naturally occurring metabolite of vitamin B6) before and for 30 days after coronary artery bypass graft surgery did not reduce the risk of heart attack or cardiovascular death, according to a JAMA study being released early online April 1 to coincide with its presentation at the annual conference of the American College of Cardiology.
The study will be published in the April 16 issue of JAMA.
“Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is one of the most important therapeutic options for relieving angina and improving survival and quality of life in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease. It is the most commonly performed cardiac surgical procedure in the world, and in 2005, more than 250,000 CABG procedures were performed in the United States,” the authors write. Serious complications can include heart attack, recurrent angina, kidney insufficiency, stroke, and death. Phase 2 trial data suggest that MC-1 may reduce death or heart attack in high-risk patients undergoing CABG surgery.
John H. Alexander, M.D., M.H.S., of Duke University Medical Center, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, N.C., and colleagues with MEND-CABG II, a phase 3, multicenter, randomized trial, assessed the cardioprotective effect of MC-1 administered before and continued for 30 days after CABG surgery, compared with placebo, in 3,023 intermediate- to high-risk patients undergoing CABG surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.