new ways to prevent heart attacks

inflammation-the body's reaction to injury

New strategies for preventing heart attacks may have emerged from a discovery by Dr. Benjamin Victor, chief resident in pathology at the UCI Medical Center.

His research has shown that heart attacks may result from an inflammatory process gone awry that causes plaque in the arteries to become unstable and rupture. If medications can be developed to stop this process, he said, then perhaps heart attacks could be prevented.

"The major cause of death in the western world is heart attack," said Victor, who presented his findings at an American Heart Association convention in New Orleans.

"A heart attack was once considered to be an inevitable product of our lifestyle," he said, "but perhaps it's just an inflammatory process out of control."

Victor's work is focusing on macrophages, a class of white blood cells that abound when inflammation is present in the body. Macrophages are also present in plaque, the deposits of cholesterol and other fatty substances that clog arteries and contribute to heart attacks.

Macrophages produce enzymes that break down collagen -- the tough, connective-tissue protein found throughout the body, Victor points out. Collagen forms a thick cap that keeps arterial plaque stable.

"Inflammation is the body's reaction to injury," Victor explained. "Every time your body is doing anything to repair itself, there's going to be remodeling. Macrophages are part of the dissolving and rebuilding process."