Kent Hospital offers clinical trial to heart disease patients

Posted 11/14/13

The Kent Hospital Division of Cardiology is offering a new clinical trial, RAID (Ranolazine in High Risk ICD Patients), to patients with heart disease who currently have a cardiac defibrillator or …

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Kent Hospital offers clinical trial to heart disease patients

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The Kent Hospital Division of Cardiology is offering a new clinical trial, RAID (Ranolazine in High Risk ICD Patients), to patients with heart disease who currently have a cardiac defibrillator or are in need of an implantation. The study will determine how effective the drug, ranolazine, is in reducing the risk of fast and life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The trial, which is sponsored by the University of Rochester Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will last about three and a half years and is hoping to enroll more than 1,400 patients.

“The RAID clinical trial is an important NIH trial that could be very beneficial to the many heart disease patients who suffer from cardiac arrhythmias and may be facing the potential of more intense, life-threatening heart rhythms,” said Chester Hedgepeth, MD, PhD, Kent Hospital’s executive chief of cardiology. “The drug has the potential to make a major positive impact in this highest risk group of patients.”

Patients who have been diagnosed with heart disease resulting in the implantation of an ICD may also be at risk for developing cardiac arrhythmias. Currently, there are limited medical options for reducing the risk for life-threatening heart rhythms, but the objective of RAID is to determine if high-risk patients treated with ICDs combined with ranolazine will lower the risk of developing life-threatening heart rhythms.

Ranolazine is a cardiovascular drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical use in patients with chest pain in the course of ischemic heart disease. Recent data from prior studies indicate that this drug may have antiarrhythmic properties. If you meet the study requirements and are interested in participating or would like more information, call the Kent Hospital Division of Cardiology at 681-4996.

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