Research Timeline - the 1980s

Aspirin - lives saved by new use of household drug

Research discovered that a drug called streptokinase has 'clot busting' abilities.

This drug combination is responsible for halving the death rate from heart attacks when they are treated in hospital.

Effective treatment of heart failure

Heart failure causes symptoms resulting from reduced blood flow to the muscles and organs and through accumulation of fluid in various parts of the body. Symptoms may include severe fatigue, breathlessness and ankle swelling.

The emergence of drugs, particularly ACE inhibitors (the benefits of which include a relaxing effect on the arteries, thus reducing the work of the heart,) have led to an improved quality of life for countless heart patients.

Improved treatment for irregular heart beats

Some disturbances of heart rhythm cause the heart to beat too quickly. Although sometimes no more than a nuisance, attacks may be life threatening. One of the most significant advances in the 1980s was treatment through the introduction of ablation techniques. A thin tube called a catheter is placed in the heart and gently warmed by radio frequency energy so that the electrical short-circuit in the heart that causes these problems is corrected.

Smoking and cardiovascular disease

The relationship between smoking and cardiovascular disease became well established from major epidemiological studies in the 1980s. Coronary heart disease, stroke and arterial disease were all found to be strongly linked with smoking and that smoking increased the effect of other risk factors.

> The 1990s

Got any questions about this page?