WEDNESDAY, August 15, 2001 (HealthDayNews) -- A new medication to fight congestive heart failure has cleared a final FDA hurdle and should be ready for use within the next six months.
Natrecor, a synthetic drug made by Scios Inc., replicates a natural hormone that causes arteries and veins to dilate. This allows easier flow of blood around the heart and alleviates many of the most damaging symptoms of congestive heart failure. One of the most important aspects of avoiding congestive heart failure is to keep the heart rate constant, and Natrecor helps do this, eliminating additional strain on the heart muscle.
The FDA's latest bulletin outlines the approval.
The final OK came only after a series of clinical trials, as this article from The Doctor's Guide reports. It's the first drug approved for treatment of congestive heart failure in the past 10 years.
Congestive heart failure affects more than 5 million Americans, most of them elderly. There's no cure, because the heart is functioning inefficiently, causing fluid to accumulate in lung tissue and around other organs. The condition often leads to death, because an insufficient amount of blood is circulated throughout the body.
Symptoms include difficulty in breathing, swelling of the hands and feet, difficulty in sleeping, dry cough, fatigue and rapid weight gain. Congestive heart failure has a number of causes, including a heart attack or chronic heart disease (a weakening of the heart muscle itself).
This material from the Heart Information Network describes the causes and symptoms of congestive heart failure.
