Nicotine patches safe for CAD patients

The results of a study, presented at the American College of Cardiology's annual conference, indicate that nicotine patches are safe for patients with coronary artery disease. The trial, which was conducted by Craig Pratt and his team at the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center in Houston, demonstrated that nicotine replacement therapy was appropriate for CAD patients, in whom smoking cessation can reduce the risk of subsequent CAD events around 50%.

The trial evaluated patients with greater than 9% ischemic perfusion defect size (the amount of reduction in myocardial tissue flow) as well as the effect of nicotine patches on stress-induced myocardial ischemia using single-photon emission tomography. Patients who had smoked 20 cigarettes per day were randomized to receive either the 21mg dose of GlaxoSmithKline's' NicoDerm CQ patch or placebo, while continuing to smoke. After one week, patients were assessed and encouraged to reduce their smoking. At four weeks, despite an increase in nicotine levels in the patch group, there was no significant difference in ischemic events, compared with baseline readings, between the patch-treated and placebo arms (15.1% versus 13.3% compared with 12.1% vs 10.6%).

Patients who used the patch also demonstrated a reduction in carbon monoxide levels from an average of 22.3ppm to 11.5ppm, that was greater than the placebo group where the mean concentration fell to 18.6ppm.