Reviews & Perspectives with Dr. Hobart Lee: Colchicine Post MI

Reviews & Perspectives with Dr. Hobart Lee: Colchicine Post MI

Hobart Lee, MD, and Heidi James, MD

Inflammation is thought to be a cause of cardiovascular disease, and new drugs are developed to target this pathophysiology. Tardif et al. decided to see whether colchicine, an old medication with anti-inflammatory properties, might be useful in secondary prevention after myocardial infarction (MI).

Hoby and Heidi note the following:

• Colchicine dosed at 0.5 mg/day decreased rates of cardiovascular disease in this population.
• The dropout rate was nearly 20%. 
• C-reactive protein levels were unchanged during therapy, which may indicate that colchicine’s effect is NOT a measurable anti-inflammatory one. 
• Hoby and Heidi expect this study to change post-MI care. 

Efficacy and safety of low-dose colchicine after myocardial infarction. Tardif J-C, Kouz S, Waters DD, et al. N Engl J Med. 2019;381:2497-2505. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1912388.