The commonly used blood-thinner Plavix can prevent heart attacks and strokes in both genders; it, however, is slightly more beneficial for men.

Plavix (clopidogrel), which stops platelets from clumping together in a similar manner as aspirin, is widely used in treating heart attack patients.

According to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Plavix lowers the risk of cardiovascular events by 16 percent in men and by 7 percent in women.

The blood thinner is reported to be mostly effective in lowering the risk of heart attack and not that of stroke or death in women.

As for men, however, it significantly cuts the risk of all three — heart attack, stroke and death.

"If you treat 1,000 women, you will have approximately five major bleeding events, and if you treat 1,000 men, you will have two major bleeding events," said lead researcher Jeffrey Berger, adding that the drug's use is associated with more major bleeding events in women.

Scientists claimed that the fact that women have more reactive platelets and more delicate blood vessels is a possible factor contributing to this gender difference in Plavix users.

PKH/HGH