SINGAPORE: A new drug has been clinically proven to lower the risk of cardiovascular death, with fewer side effects than standard drugs.

Cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes, were responsible for almost 30 per cent of deaths in Singapore in 2007.

On average, Singapore sees 2,000 cases of heart attacks per year, and about 8,600 stroke cases. The number of such cases could have been lowered if more people were taking their medication.

However, as many as 54 per cent of patients, majority of whom are Chinese, developed side effects after taking the standard treatment known as the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitor. One third of the patients stopped medication.

This number is lower among Caucasians, with only 10 per cent of Caucasians developing side effects after taking the ACE Inhibitor.

Side effects include coughing and swelling around the eyes and lips.

A cardiovascular disease patient, C S Teo, said: "Mainly (the side effect) is coughing... (and it) usually (happens) during the viral infection period." Teo added that his sleeping pattern was also affected at times.

But now a drug called Telmisartan, known commercially as Micardis, promises fewer side effects.

A five-and-a-half year clinical trial in 39 countries, including Singapore, has shown that the drug reduces the risk of cardiovascular death by 13 per cent.

The Singapore General Hospital and National Heart Centre Singapore had participated in this trial.

A senior consultant at National Heart Centre Singapore, Dr Bernard Kwok, said, "The trial now tells us that in any high risk cardiovascular patient that a doctor encounters, we should consider Telmisartan as the drug of choice.

"High risk patients are patients with a documented cardiovascular event, previous stroke, previous heart attack, as well as diabetic patients who have end organ damage."

But Telmisartan does not come cheap and it costs 4 times more than standard generic drugs.

Telmisartan costs S$40 a month for a daily dosage of the 40 milligram pill, which works out to S$1.30 a day, while some generic ACE Inhibitor pills cost about 30 cents per day.

- CNA/yt