Increased Mortality after Dronedarone Therapy for Severe Heart Failure

kavin submitted, created time 3 months 4 days (content.nejm.org)

Background: Dronedarone is a novel antiarrhythmic drug with electrophysiological properties that are similar to those of amiodarone, but it does not contain iodine and thus does not cause iodine-related adverse reactions. Therefore, it may be of value in the treatment of patients with heart failure.

Methods: In a multicenter study with a double-blind design, we planned to randomly assign 1000 patients who were hospitalized with symptomatic heart failure and severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction to receive 400 mg of dronedarone twice a day or placebo

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Blood-sucking device saves heart patients, study shows

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 months 3 weeks (www.latimes.com)

The vacuum-cleaner-like apparatus removes clots before angioplasty, preventing fragments from breaking off. Death rates in the year following surgery are cut in half, researchers say.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: mortality blood clots angioplasty clots vacuum heart patients