In a new study, researchers found in preclinical studies that Aliskiren, an FDA-approved drug that inhibits the enzyme that regulates blood pressure, can delay congestive heart failure and improve survival rates.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Arizona.
More than 5 million Americans live with congestive heart failure, a chronic progressive condition that occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t pump blood as well as it should.
Patients suffer from progressive muscle wasting and fluid retention, which leads to discomfort, shortness of breath and fatigue.
There is a need to better measure muscle wasting and fluid retention to identify effective methods for treatment and prevention.
One of the major challenges in heart failure management is detecting and reproducibly quantifying edema and muscle mass over time in response to interventions that treat breathlessness, clinical symptoms of heart failure and cardiac cachexia, which is unintentional severe weight loss associated with heart failure.
In the study, the team used new technology to evaluate changes in muscle mass and fluid retention over time in heart failure.
In addition, the device captures changes in body fat and lean muscle mass, which are associated with poor prognosis in heart failure patients.
Using this noninvasive technology, they showed that Aliskiren blocked muscle loss, prevented fluid retention and saved lives.
According to the researchers, this FDA-approved drug has the potential to improve the quality and extend life in properly identified heart failure patients.
That’s an extra 5.6 years with loved ones that otherwise would not be possible.
Although further studies are needed, along with human clinical trials, the team is excited about the research direction and what those outcomes could mean for the college and the people of Arizona and beyond.
The lead author of the study is Ryan Sullivan, DVM, assistant professor in the college’s Department of Internal Medicine.
The study is published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
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