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BEAUTIFUL: Ivabradine did as well as placebo
The much-awaited results of the BEAUTIFUL trial showed that when compared with placebo, the drug did not have an effect on cardiovascular death or admission to the hospital for myocardial infarction or heart failure.
However, presenter Kim Fox, MD, president of the European Society of Cardiology, said that ivabradine (Procoralan, Servier) reduced the risk of fatal and nonfatal MI by 36% and coronary revascularization by 30% among patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction, even when those patients were already receiving optimal medical therapy.
The study also demonstrated that patients with a heart rate ≥70 beats per minute are more likely to die or suffer from another cardiovascular event; the increase in risk is 34% for cardiovascular death, 46% for MI, 56% for heart failure and 38% for coronary revascularization. – by Judith Rusk
I see no reason to change our current guideline-recommended therapy for patients with left ventricular dysfunction but I’d like to think that a prospective study is needed to evaluate the potential benefits of ivabradine on CAD and the outcomes among patients with heart rates greater than 70 beats per minute.
– Sidney C. Smith, MD
Director of the Center for CV Science and
Medicine
University of North Carolina
For more information:
- Fox K. Hotline I. Presented at: The European Society of Cardiology Congress 2008; Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 2008; Munich.