More than 700, 000 people live with heart failure, which occurs when the organ becomes too weak to pump blood efficiently round the body. This can lead to fatigue, breathlessness, increased heart rate and other serious complications. Around 100, 000 people a year are thought to die from heart failure and many patients are repeatedly admitted to hospital because of their symptoms.

　　The dramatic results from the trial of 6, 500 patients—the biggest of its kind—found a 26 percent cut in heart failure deaths, suggesting the lives of around 10, 000 British patients could be saved each year. The research also found ivabradine will help reduce the number of hospital admissions by 26 percent, which would cut costs.

　　The trial, carried out in 37 countries including the UK, showed particular benefits for patients who cannot take beta blockers(阻滞药). Beta blockers reduce the heart rate, giving it more time to fill with blood before the next beat. But in as many as 50 percent of patients beta blockers do not work or have unpleasant side effects.

　　All the patients in the trial had high heart rates of around 77 beats per minute on average. Ivabradine lowers the number of beats to around 60 per minute without reducing blood pressure, which means the damaged heart is pumping more efficiently at a slower rate.

　　Professor Cowie, consultant cardiologist(心脏病学家)at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, said, “This is a very clean way of dropping the heart rate. Patients on beta blockers complain of tiredness and many stop taking it. ”At a very conservative estimate, prescribing ivabradine to eligible patients could save between 5, 000 and 10, 000 lives a year, he said.

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