Ivabradine improves angina-related quality of life

(HealthDay)—For patients with angina pectoris, ivabradine is associated with improvements in certain parameters of quality of life (QoL), according to a study published online Dec. 22 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Michal Tendera, M.D., from the Medical University of Silesia in Poland, and colleagues examined the effect of ivabradine on angina-related QoL in a subgroup of participants from the Study Assessing the Morbidity-Mortality Benefits of the I_f Inhibitor Ivabradine in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease (SIGNIFY) QoL substudy. Data were obtained for 4,187 patients (2,084 treated with ivabradine and 2,103 treated with placebo).

The researchers found that both treatment groups experienced improvement in QoL. The primary outcome of change in physical limitation score at 12 months was 4.56 and 3.40 points for ivabradine and placebo, respectively (P = 0.085). At six months, the ivabradine-placebo difference in physical limitation score was significant (P = 0.048). Among ivabradine-treated patients, the visual analog scale and other Seattle Angina Questionnaire dimensions were higher at 12 months, particularly angina frequency (P < 0.001) and disease perception (P = 0.006). The best improvement in QoL at 12 months was seen for patients with the worst QoL at baseline. Over the study duration, the effect on QoL was maintained.

"Treatment with ivabradine seems to be associated with improvements in self-reported QoL related to angina pectoris, notably in terms of angina frequency and disease perception," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Servier, which manufactures ivabradine and funded the study.