Blood Pressure Drug Approved to Counter Heart Failure

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the AstraZeneca blood pressure drug Atacand to reduce the risk of death and hospitalization from heart failure.

The drug belongs to a class of medications called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB). In a study of 2,028 heart failure patients who were intolerant to a separate class of medicines called ACE inhibitors, Atacand lowered patients’ risk of death or hospitalization by 23 percent, the company said in a statement.

Heart failure, caused when the heart becomes unable to effectively pump blood to the rest of the body, affects nearly 5 million Americans and contributes to some 300,000 deaths annually, AstraZeneca said, citing the American Heart Association. More than half a million new cases are diagnosed each year, and the condition is responsible for more than 3.5 million hospitalizations annually, the company added.

Atacand can harm a developing fetus and should not be used by women as soon as they discover they are pregnant, AstraZeneca said.

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