Anti-inflammatory drug cuts risk of heart attack - but at what cost?

Acute inflammation is part of the body's normal protection against injury

A drug, currently licensed to treat a rare form of arthritis, has been found to significantly reduce the risk of heart attack and lung cancer, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The drug is being hailed as the biggest breakthrough in preventing heart attacks since the introduction of statins, 30 years ago.

The four-year trial, called CANTOS, involved 10,000 participants, each of whom had suffered an initial heart attack. The researchers wanted to know if an anti-inflammatory drug – approved to treat juvenile arthritis – could prevent a subsequent heart attacks in the