People with heart failure are regularly prescribed angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors to lower their risks of heart disease events and strokes.

ACE inhibitors are also commonly given to people with diabetes to try to prevent the progression of kidney disease. And many patients are treated with an ACE inhibitor following a heart attack.

Can ACE inhibitors protect the hearts of people in yet another group: those with coronary artery disease but no signs of heart failure or abnormal left ventricular function? Some studies have shown no benefit of using ACE inhibitors for these people. The question got another look recently from a research team that examined the results of seven controlled clinical trials involving 34,000 patients for an average of 4.4 years.

The authors found that treatment with an ACE inhibitor was associated with a small but significant reduction, compared with no ACE inhibitor treatment, in overall mortality, cardiovascular mortality, heart attacks, and strokes.

These findings suggest that ACE inhibitors might be a helpful part of the package of preventive medications used in people with coronary artery disease, even if they don't have additional problems of heart failure or early kidney damage.

I've written before about a new proposal for a "polypill" that would include an ACE inhibitor, aspirin, and a statin that has been suggested as a preventive therapy for everyone who has suffered a heart attack.