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Freezing, Medicating Away a Dangerous Irregular Heart Rhythm
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 The study was also reported early online Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Promising results of a trial of an anti-clotting drug that is a candidate to replace warfarin (Coumadin), which now is prescribed for many people with atrial fibrillation, were also described by Dr. Michael D. Ezekowitz, professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Warfarin is notoriously difficult to control, requiring frequent blood tests, and cardiologists everywhere would welcome a replacement.
The trial of 508 people at 35 centers in the United States, Canada and Germany compared three different doses (40, 60 or 80 milligrams a day) of the new drug, betrixaban, to warfarin therapy.
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"All the doses of the drug were effective, and there was a suggestion of a dose-response ratio," Ezekowitz said, meaning that the benefit increased along with the dose received.
The study was funded by drug makers Portola Pharmaceuticals and Merck & Co.
Betrixaban is one of several anti-clotting drugs at various stages of testing as alternatives to warfarin. One of its possible advantages is that it is being co-developed with an antidote that could be used immediately if excess bleeding occurred, Ezekowitz said. But the drug is in an early stage of development, he cautioned.
More information
There's more on atrial fibrillation at the American Heart Association.
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Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Last updated 3/15/2010
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SOURCES: March 15, 2010, press briefing at the America College of Cardiology annual meeting, Atlanta, with: Douglas L. Packer, M.D., cardiologist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; Isabelle C. Van Gelder, M.D., professor, cardiology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands; Michael D. Ezekowitz, M.D., professor, medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia
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