The latest research has revealed that a new drug for treating people with an irregular heartbeat has fewer side effects than the standard treatment and is just as good at cutting the risk of stroke. Rivaroxaban, which is easier for people to take, is as effective as warfarin at preventing blood clots and thus lowering the risk of stroke for patients with atrial fibrillation say researchers.
Arrhythmias or irregular heartbeats affect about 800,000 Britons. The risk of stroke can be four to six times higher in people suffering from the condition. The findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine were made by researchers based at the University of Edinburgh and the Duke University in North Carolina. The study, which involved 14,000 patients, compared the effects of warfarin - the standard drug that prevents clotting in people with irregular heartbeats - with rivaroxaban.
The occurrence of bleeding was similar for both drugs but it was found that the risk of fatal bleeding on the brain was more than halved - from five per 1,000 to two per 1,000 in patients taking rivaroxaban.
Both drugs work by reducing the clotting of the blood but, as a result, can increase the risk of bleeding. The impact of warfarin can be affected by other medications and diet, so patients taking it must be closely monitored to ensure they are receiving the correct dose. Rivaroxaban does not need to be so closely monitored, nor the dose adjusted, the study found.
Professor Keith Fox, from Edinburgh University, said, “We know that about a third of patients eligible for warfarin are not currently receiving it. This may be because they are too frail and may not be able to manage taking the drug appropriately, with the need for blood tests and dosage levels to be monitored closely. This study shows that an alternative drug for patients with irregular heartbeats is just as effective while also easier to prescribe and take.”
Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said, “This important study adds rivaroxaban to the increasing list of new drugs that seem to be at least as good as warfarin - the current standard therapy to prevent strokes in people with atrial fibrillation. An additional advantage is that they do not require the close monitoring that warfarin does. However, the rate at which these new drugs are introduced to patients will be determined by the extent to which regulators believe their benefits justify their additional cost.”
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