Heart Drug Heart Drug Researchers may be on the trail of a new drug that cuts the death rate from congestive heart failure. Although deaths from heart attacks and coronary heart disease are on the decline, the incidence of heart failure continues to rise. Experts believe that increase is due to the aging of the population partly due to the development of more effective drugs to prevent and treat heart attacks and coronary heart disease. About 10-percent of elderly Americans suffer from heart failure.
Many people confuse heart attack with heart failure.
Actually, heart failure is the term physicians use to describe a damaged or overworked heart muscle that lacks the strength to pump blood efficiently enough to keep the body working. Early research on the drug showed a 50-percent reduction in mortality among patients taking vesnarinone. Researchers also found patients taking the drug had a much higher quality of life than patients taking the placebo. Nearly 4-thousand patients for the trial are being recruited at 175 research centers nationwide. Other Topics Health Watch is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional.