Heart failure drug offers new hope for POTS patients

CHESTERFIELD, Va. – A recent study by researchers at UVA Health and Virginia Commonwealth University has found that a heart failure drug may offer significant relief for individuals suffering from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, commonly known as POTS.

POTS primarily affects young women, causing debilitating symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, and a rapid heartbeat, especially when standing or exercising.

"POTS is a syndrome where patients experience an increase in heart rate with standing and exercising, and that makes them feel sick," explained Dr. Antonio Abbate, a cardiologist at UVA Health and a researcher involved in the study.

While effective treatments for POTS have been limited, this new research offers promising insight. The study focused on ten patients with the syndrome, exploring a different approach to managing their symptoms.

"They were treated with ivabradine, because it may help physicians and also may help us understand better what POTS is and how it causes symptoms in patients," Dr. Abbate said.

The medication, ivabradine, works by lowering the heart rate. The study found that it significantly reduced patients' excessive increase in heart rate when standing and also improved other challenging symptoms, such as chest pain.

With an immediate need for more effective treatments for POTS patients, these findings are considered a step in the right direction.

"Being that this medication is already available, and we know a lot about the safety, we may just continue to treat some patients with this medication," Dr. Abbate noted, highlighting the potential for quicker implementation given the drug's existing approval for other conditions.

While these initial findings are promising, Dr. Abbate emphasized that the next crucial step is a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. This larger study would involve some patients receiving ivabradine while others receive a placebo, a critical step to see how effective this medication can be for POTS on a broader scale.

According to UVA Health, the researchers have published their findings in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology. The research team consisted of Michele Marchetta, Rocio I. Lopez, Austin C. Hogwood, Georgia Thomas, Gerardina Abbate, Roshanak Markley, Justin M. Canada and Antonio Abbate.