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Effects of ivabradine on allograft function and exercise performance in heart transplant recipients with permanent

R Zhang1, A Haverich, M Strüber

  • 1Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany.

Clinical Research in Cardiology : Official Journal of the German Cardiac Society
|July 24, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Ivabradine effectively lowered resting heart rate (HR) in heart transplant recipients with sinus tachycardia. This heart rate-lowering agent did not negatively impact blood pressure and showed potential benefits in cardiac remodeling.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Transplantation Medicine
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Permanent sinus tachycardia is a common complication in heart transplant recipients.
  • Elevated heart rate can negatively impact allograft function and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effects of ivabradine on allograft function and cardiopulmonary performance.
  • To assess ivabradine's efficacy as a heart rate-lowering agent in heart transplant recipients with permanent sinus tachycardia.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 26 heart transplant recipients with permanent sinus tachycardia treated with ivabradine (5 mg twice daily).
  • Assessment of resting heart rate, blood pressure, corrected QT interval, left ventricular (LV) mass, and cardiopulmonary performance.
  • Data collected at baseline and after 3 and 12 weeks of treatment.

Main Results:

  • Ivabradine significantly reduced resting heart rate (HR) from 106.3 +/- 9.1 to 82.2 +/- 6.3 bpm within 3 weeks.
  • No significant changes in resting blood pressure were observed.
  • Significant reduction in corrected QT interval, LV end-diastolic posterior wall thickness, LV mass, and LV mass index after 12 weeks.
  • A trend towards improved cardiopulmonary performance and LV ejection fraction was noted but did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions:

  • Ivabradine is effective in reducing resting heart rate in heart transplant recipients with sinus tachycardia without adverse effects on blood pressure.
  • Ivabradine demonstrated potential benefits in cardiac remodeling, indicated by reduced LV mass.
  • Further prospective, randomized, and controlled trials are needed to confirm the impact of ivabradine on LV mass regression and cardiopulmonary performance.

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