New pill to 'stop strokes'

The drug, which slashes the risk of suffering a stroke by over a third, will help more than a million Britons.

Pradaxa is now available for use in the UK. In trials it was found to significantly reduce the risk of a stroke in patients with an irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation. This is one of the main causes of strokes.

The drug, taken twice a day at a cost of £2.52, already prevents thousands of deaths each year from blood clots after hip or knee replacement surgery. Now European regulators have given the makers of the drug permission to use it for the prevention of strokes in patients with AF, who have one or more risk factors such as having already ­suffered a stroke.

Pradaxa will now be assessed by the Government’s drug rationing body, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, to determine whether it should be widely used in the NHS for stroke prevention.

But it is immediately available if purchased ­privately or if prescribed at a doctor’s discretion.