Alzheimer's drugs linked to lower heart attack risk A class of drugs known as cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs), which are used to treat the early stages of the disease, also lower the risk of heart attacks by 38 per cent. This means that for every 100,000 Alzheimer's patients, there would be 180 fewer heart attacks and 1,125 fewer deaths among those using the drugs compared with those not using them, researchers said. The scientists, from Umeå University in Sweden, examined the health records of 7,073 people with Alzheimer's disease between May 2007 and December 2010. Their results, published in the European Heart Journal, found that those using ChEIs such as donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine were a third less likely to suffer a heart attack. They were also likely to live longer and were 26 per cent less likely to die from cardiovascular conditions such as a stroke. Prof Peter Nordström, who led the study, said: "As far as we know, this is the first time that the use of ChEIs has been linked to a reduced risk of heart attacks and deaths from cardiovascular disease in general, or from any cause. We cannot say that ChEI use is causing the reduction in risk ... however, the strengths of the associations make them very interesting from the clinical point of view.