Tuesday, February 17, 2009

New heart drug offers hope

From the Hamilton Spectator:
Hamilton doctors can calm a heart beating dangerously fast with a new drug expected to drastically improve the chances of surviving a common heart condition.

The drug Dronedarone cuts by 25 per cent the number of cardiac deaths and hospitalizations from atrial fibrillation, which is an abnormal heart rhythm afflicting about one per cent of the population.

The ATHENA study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine holds the hope of a treatment with far fewer side effects and better results.

“This study was spectacularly positive,” said Dr. Stuart Connolly, principal investigator of the ATHENA study and head of cardiology at Hamilton Health Sciences. “This is a very important finding.”

The drug is not yet available, but is expected to be approved in Canada in the next year or so. ...more

No comments: