Patients suffering from an undetected irregular heartbeat are more likely to suffer strokes than those whose who have a treated heart condition, according to a study conducted by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.
Boehringer Ingelheim, the makers of Pradaxa, a drug used in 100 countries to treat non-valvular atrial fibrillation, recently announced the findings of the ongoing GLORIA-AF Phase 2 clinical trial at EHRA-EUROPACE CARDIOSTIM 2017. Launched in 2011, the GLORIA-AF tracks nearly 40,000 patients worldwide who are diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.
Pradaxa is part of a new class of anti-clotting agents that work without blocking Vitamin K, a nutrient that helps the body stop bleeding. Patients who have an irregular heartbeat are five times as likely to form clots that can travel to the brain, according to a June 21 press release.
Boehringer Ingelheim’s vice president of medicine, Professor Jorg Kreuzer, welcomed the findings and outlined the next steps for the clinical trial.
“We look forward to further results from GLORIA™-AF that will support physician prescribing decisions for stroke prevention,” Kreuzer said. “Future data analyses will include two year follow-up data from about 5,000 dabigatran (Pradaxa) patients from routine clinical practice worldwide.”
Some 3 million people have strokes caused by an irregular heartbeat, the release said.
