Procoralan: new option for chronic heart failure

The double-blind SHIFT study compared ivabradine, the only licensed sinus node I_f inhibitor, with placebo in patients with stable chronic heart failure (NHYA class II to IV). Patients were randomised to receive ivabradine 7.5mg twice daily (n=3268) or placebo (n=3290), and were permitted to continue stable background therapy (including β-blockers) if tolerated. Investigators used a composite of cardiovascular death or hospital admission for worsening heart failure as the primary endpoint, and all analyses were based on the intention to treat population.

At the end of the follow-up period (median 22.9 months), fewer patients met the primary endpoint in the ivabradine group (793 events) than in the control group (937 events), resulting in a hazard ratio of 0.82 (95% CI 0.75-0.90; p<0.0001).

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Further information: Servier Laboratories Ltd