Heart failure affects 5.1 million people in the United States alone, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With that number so high, I’ve been hoping for a breakthrough.
It was announced today that “a drug already available in Europe has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for reducing the risk for hospitalization from worsening heart failure,” according to MedScape.
A trail with this drug resulted in an 18 percent drop in “cardiovascular death or hospitalization for worsening heart failure over an average of 23 months,” MedScape said.
According to the FDA, ivabradine, the medication, is indicated for heart failure patients who are stable and have a heart rate greater than or equal to 70 per minute while on “maximally tolerated beta-blockers.” Beta blockers are drugs that are used to help control heart beats and reduce high blood pressure, Mayo Clinic said.
Thinking about this new medication’s ability to improve one’s life is awe-inspiring to me. The fact that so many lives can be benefitted through this breakthrough made for great news.
Sources:
Beta blockers. Mayo Clinic. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-dep.... Accessed April 16, 2015.
FDA Approves Ivabradine (Corlanor) for Chronic HF. Medscape. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/843242. Accessed April 16, 2015.