Ivabradine pill may prevent heart failure for thousands
14:55, 30 August 2010
STOCKHOLM. August 30. KAZINFORM A pill costing less than £1.50 a day has the potential to save the lives of thousands of heart failure patients, medical trials suggest; Kazinform refers to BBC.
The drug, ivabradine, is already available in the UK to treat angina.
Prof Martin Cowie, who led the UK-based part of the study, said it could save up to 10,000 lives each year.
The trial involved more than 6,500 people in 37 countries who already used standard treatments such as beta-blocker drugs.
Over a typical study period of two years, ivabradine cut the risk of death from heart failure by 26%.
It had a similar impact on the likelihood of patients being admitted to hospital.
The research findings were presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) annual meeting in Stockholm; Kazinform cites BBC.
See www.bbc.co.uk for full version.