The University of Rochester Medical Center has been awarded funding to lead a large nationwide heart study.
The cardiac research team received $27 million to jump-start a head-to-head comparison of two popular drugs used to treat heart failure. Carvedilol and metoprolol succinate are the two main drugs prescribed to patients with heart failure to improve chances of survival.
But researchers said no study has been done to determine which is the better option.
“Our research institute, especially in cardiology, is leading in sudden cardiac death prevention, device therapy and heart failure,” Dr. Ilan Goldenberg said. “We are now moving into the future, and this study is going to continue to pursue a legacy.”
Goldenberg is the director of URMC’s cardiovascular research center. He said the study will enroll 2,000 patients across 100 medical centers nationwide.
Dr. Mehmet Aktas, a cardiac electrophysiologist for URMC and the lead investigator on the study, said the drugs will be evaluated on various metrics to determine which is more effective. He said those factors include time spent in the hospital.
“Patients don't want to be in the hospital,” Aktas said. “So if we can demonstrate that one drug keeps patients out of the hospital, lets them live longer, avoids the chance that they may need a shock from the defibrillator, those are some key metrics.”
Aktas said it could take several years before enough data is collected to make a decision.
