Ivabradine and AF: Coincidence, Correlation or a New Treatment?

Mahmoud Abdelnabi, Ashraf Ahmed, Abdallah Almaghraby, Yehia Saleh, Haitham Badran, Mahmoud Abdelnabi, Ashraf Ahmed, Abdallah Almaghraby, Yehia Saleh, Haitham Badran

Abstract

Ivabradine is a heart rate-lowering agent that inhibits pacemaker funny current (If). It has been approved by the European Medicines Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration for patients with stable angina and heart failure (HF). AF is a common issue especially in ischaemic heart disease and HF patients. In contrast to experimental findings and a limited number of clinical trials that demonstrate the emerging role of ivabradine for heart rate control in AF or maintenance of sinus rhythm, there is accumulating contradictory data indicating that there is, in fact, an increased incidence of new-onset AF among people who are taking ivabradine in clinical practice. This article reviews the most recent evidence highlighting the diversity of data in relation to the use of ivabradine and the onset of AF and whether it has a legitimate role in AF treatment and the maintenance of sinus rhythm.

Keywords: AF; If channels; If current; Ivabradine; acute coronary syndromes; angina; heart failure; heart rate.

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Copyright © 2019, Radcliffe Cardiology.

Figures

Figure 1:. Mechanism of Action of Ivabradine
Figure 1:. Mechanism of Action of Ivabradine

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