A national research trial recently conducted in Oklahoma shows that there may be a new treatment for heart disease.

This research trial, called VALIANT (VALsartan In Acute myocardial iNfarction Trial) incorporates the use of the drug valsartan to treat patients following a heart attack. Ninety Oklahomans participated in the trial, a number that exceeded the per-state patient enrollment across the United States. More than 14,700 patients from 24 countries took part in the study.

Jerome Anderson, M.D., a cardiologist with INTEGRIS Heart Hospital and supervisor of the Oklahoma VALIANT trial, attributes the high enrollment to the desire of Oklahomans to help other people.

“Oklahomans volunteered better than anybody,” says Anderson.

Before VALIANT, valsartan (also known as Diovan) was used as a blood pressure medication. But in heart attack patients, valsartan was found to decrease the number of hospitalizations and deaths linked to heart disease and heart attack.

During the trial, one group was given valsartan, another was given captopril (a different drug used to treat heart attack survivors) and a third group received both medications. Even though the benefits seemed comparable between the valsartan and captopril groups, the lives of about 25 percent more patients studied were saved with valsartan. That percentage equals about 30,000 people saved annually across North America.

This was the largest long-term study (an average of two years) ever performed on patients who have survived heart attacks. Valsartan was very helpful in heart attack treatment and appeared to cause fewer side effects than other medicines.

Jerome Anderson, M.D., supervisor of the Oklahoma VALIANT trial

Anderson hopes that VALIANT will benefit Oklahomans in the long run by bringing revolutionary technologies to the state.

“The research we conduct at INTEGRIS Heart Hospital helps us in getting research drugs and financial backing to continue our studies,” says Anderson. “I like to think we have the same treatments that are available in other cities.”

According to Novartis, the valsartan manufacturer, further studies are planned to determine the possible benefits of using valsartan to treat other health concerns.

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