This is the title of a 2016 research paper published in the prestigious Journal of the American Heart Association. It can be found here. In their conclusions section discussing CVD (cardiovascular disease), they state “hydroxychloroquine use was associated with a 72% decrease in the risk of incident CVD in RA patients.” This is particularly important because heart disease is the leading cause of death in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Hydroxychloroquine for Cardiovascular Events
Nor is this an isolated study. Here is a 2019 study that found that the risk of clots was less in patients on hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and the clot prevention was higher the higher the level of HCQ in the blood
Yet another paper from the American College of Rheumatology in 2019 concludes “The use of HCQ is independently associated with decreased risk for cardiovascular morbidity among RA patients, particularly when using the higher dose of 400 mg per day. This newly demonstrated effect of HCQ should be considered in the overall management of RA”.
A meta-analysis entitled Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are associated with reduced cardiovascular risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis
The above papers mostly reference the ability of HCQ to reduce blood clots that lead to heart attack and stroke. However, another paper entitled “Hydroxychloroquine linked to reduced risk for atrial fibrillation in SLE” refers to the prevention of cardiac problems due to arrhythmia, a separate protective cardiac action.
The above may be surprising to the reader whose only knowledge of HCQ and the heart is from bogus media news reports of increased “risk” of heart problems from HCQ. As I wrote in another post this is simply false. Here we demonstrate that not only is there not any significant heart risk from HCQ, but in fact HCQ LOWERS CARDIAC RISK. This lowering of risk as I have evidenced above is rock solid and not open to debate. The fear-mongering news reports refer to a “potential” risk, while actual increased deaths from HCQ have not been seen. This also points out the dangers of only reading headlines. They are often misleading, and if you want to know the truth you will need to read in greater depth. Unfortunately, many COVID-19 media reports are agenda-driven and false. The real truth, that HCQ protects against heart disease, is readily apparent to anyone seriously interested in the truth.