People with a common heart condition significantly improved their oxygen consumption during exercise after taking an investigational drug, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The finding has also been presented at the 2024 meeting of the European Society of Cardiology on Heart Failure held in Lisbon (Portugal).
Aficamten, the experimental drug being evaluated in a clinical trial involving Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), was developed by Cytokinetics and is designed to treat the obstructive form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Of the 282 adults participating in the trial, 19 were enrolled through OHSU, which is the center with the largest number of study participants.
A promising treatment for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy
“By having more oxygen available during exercise, patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can walk more easily, perform housework and other daily tasks,” explained cardiologist Ahmad Masri, who co-wrote the article and directs the Institute’s Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center. OHSU Cardiovascular Knight. “Our latest clinical trial results indicate that aficamten is a promising treatment for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,” he adds.
Obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affects approximately one in 500 people and is one of the most common causes of sudden death in healthy young people and athletes. This condition, which is often due to inherited genetic mutations, thickens the heart muscles making it difficult for them to function properly, causing shortness of breath and reducing a person’s ability to exercise. The obstructive form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy decreases blood flow to the heart.
In the trial, approximately half of the participants received the experimental drug and the other half a placebo, serving as a control group. The scientists measured the oxygen levels of the participants while they used treadmills or bicycles. Those receiving aficamten experienced a significant increase in their peak oxygen use: 1.7 milliliters per kilogram per minute more than those in the control group. Higher oxygen consumption may improve a patient’s ability to perform physical activities, while reduced oxygen consumption may increase the risk of heart failure, need for a heart transplant, and death.
“By having more oxygen available during exercise, patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy can walk more easily, perform housework, and other daily tasks.”
Non-drug treatment options for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy include surgery to remove excess heart muscle. In 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also approved mavacamten as the first drug designed to address the underlying cause of OCD, but mavacamten may increase the risk of heart failure and interacts with several commonly used medications. used, requiring intensive monitoring of patients.
The university is also currently involved in four other trials of aficamten evaluating its potential as a treatment for various forms of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and in different types of patients, including children. “While we continue to offer traditional surgical and procedural therapies for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, we are now also able to offer patients other treatment options: therapies recently approved by the FDA and investigational therapies available through participation in clinical trials,” concludes Masri.
