Research: Drug, device help treat heart failure

Associated Press

CHICAGO

Millions of people with mild or moderate heart failure got good news Sunday, with studies showing a Pfizer drug and a device from Medtronic can boost survival and cut trips to the hospital by patients having trouble breathing.

But another drug that’s been used for nearly a decade — Johnson & Johnson’s Natrecor — did little to help those with severe heart failure in a big study aimed at settling whether the drug raised the risk of death or kidney problems.

All three studies were presented Sunday at an American Heart Association conference in Chicago and are expected to have an immediate effect on care.

More than 5 million Americans and 22 million people worldwide have heart failure. It develops when the heart muscle weakens over time and can no longer pump effectively, often because of damage from a heart attack. Fluid can back up into the lungs and leave people gasping for breath.

Inspra, made by New York-based Pfizer Inc., helps block water retention and is used for advanced heart failure. In a study of more than 2,700 people with milder symptoms, it cut the risk of death or hospitalization by 37 percent. After nearly two years, less than 13 percent of those on Inspra had died of heart problems versus less than 16 percent of those given dummy pills.

The other good news came from a test of an implanted heart device made by Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc. Many people with severe heart failure already have defibrillators to zap their hearts if they suffer a rhythm problem. Newer combination devices also control how blood moves through the heart, improving pumping capacity.