New drug may help with heart failure

[hue]

http://wgntv.com/2014/11/21/new-drug-may-help-with-heart-failure/

It’s a chronic, pervasive problem; Heart failure impacts millions of Americans, shortening their lives and reducing the quality of their daily lives. It’s been a decade since doctors and patients have had renewed hope. But a new drug is infusing a sense of excitement.

“The holy grail of heart failure is to reverse what is going on in the heart and try to get some regeneration and make the heart stronger. Sometimes, by letting the heart work less it will become stronger,” said Dr Nir Uriel, University of Chicago cardiologist.

And that’s the job of conventional medications. The current cocktail helps ease the heart’s workload. But there have been no new drugs in 10 years.

“Since 2004 we didn’t have any new medications for heart failure. So we’re very excited,” said Dr Uriel.

It’s this drug University of Chicago medicine cardiologist Dr Uriel is so excited about – for now it’s called LCZ696 – and it works at the hormonal level to dilate vessels and help patients remove more fluid.

“This medication was studied in almost 10,000 patients and was shown to be superior to the current therapy that we were using. The investigational drug was shown to reduce mortality and hospital readmissions by 20 percent. “

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The results are unusually positive!

[packman]

1. And soon to be forgotten

How many times have we read about this new drug to cure cancer, that new medication to regrow hair, or that discovery of a miracle drug to restore this or do that and then -- nothing. Still waiting for that capsule you can drop into the gas tank that would give 100 miles to the gallon.
As a heart patient, I hope this drug comes to market, but I have my doubts.

[femmocrat]

2. And who will be able to afford it?

The cost will be exorbitant, no doubt.