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The drug
irbesartan not only helps control high blood pressure and
heart failure, but it can also help stop the irregular beating
of the heart known as atrial fibrillation (AF), according
to a study reported in the June 25th issue of Circulation.
Atrial
fibrillation is a dangerous condition that can lead to blood
clots in the heart. A stroke can result if part of the clot
leaves the heart and lodges in an artery to the brain. Irbesartan
belongs to a family of drugs known as angiotensin II antagonists.
Study
author Dr. Concepción Moro, professor of medicine at
the University of Alcala in Spain, said new options to deal
with AF are needed because it often recurs despite the current
treatment regimen of antiarrhythmic drugs, anti-clotting agents
and electrical impulses.
In the
study, 154 patients who had continuous AF for more than seven
days were randomly assigned to receive either the antiarryhtmic
drug amiodarone alone or amiodarone plus irbesartan. The researchers
found that patients treated with irbesartan had a greater
probability of remaining free of AF than those treated with
amiodarone alone (80 percent vs. 56 percent).
"There
were a very low number of adverse events, well within the
expected limits, and the incidence rate was similar in both
groups," Moro added.
Source:
Hypertension
Week of June 30, 2002
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