Trained cardiologist Tjerk Opstal won the Pieter van Forest Prize. De Alkmaarder won the science prize with a way to prevent another heart attack.
Opstal’s research shows that the ancient colchicine medicine works well to stop a heart attack. Patients with the drug have a thirty percent lower chance of developing a new heart attack. Opstal: “One of the risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease is vascular calcification. With this drug, that calcification slows down or is even stopped.”
Colchicine is currently used for the treatment of gout, among other things. A study has already shown that colchicine prevents heart damage immediately after a heart attack. Opstal’s research has shown that the drug also works in patients who have been asymptomatic for many years.
The Pieter van Forest Award is awarded annually to the best scientific publication engaging Northwest Hospital patients and is an incentive for scientific research within the hospital group.
