A NEW drug proposed to be introduced in Fiji can help reduce local deaths from heart attacks.
The new drug – Alteplase – is the subject of a joint project between the Ministry of Health, The University of Texas and the Fiji National University.
University of Texas Assistant Prof of Emergency Medicine Dr Rohith Malya explained the effectiveness of the drug in an interview with The Fiji Times. “The efficacy of Alteplase, let’s say you’re having a heart attack this very second, if I give you a drug within five minutes, your heart attack is gone, the clot is busted, they’re called clot busting drugs,” Dr Malya said. “Normally, these drugs are very expensive and they cost about US$1000 ($F1774)per person, however, if we get them in bulk from India, they are much cheaper than that,” he said.