Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology

This article reports the effect of Ivabradine, a drug which lowers heart rate without effecting blood pressure, on postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS).  There are a number of treatments for POTS which usually involve both lifestyle changes and medication.   No single treatment works for all patients and often patients try a number of different treatments before finding something that works.

The study involved 49 patients, of these 38 reported improvement in symptoms whilst taking Ivabradine.  In the patients tested, Ivabradine was shown to significantly lower heart rate both when sitting and standing without effecting blood pressure.   The majority of patients in the study reported an improvement in their symptoms which included palpatations and light-headedness.  Notably no one involved in the study stopped the medication due to side effects.

Published by: Wiley.

Read the whole article here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pace.13182/full

Ruzieh, M., Sirianni, N., Ammari, Z., Dasa, O., Alhazmi, L., Karabin, B. and Grubb, B., 2017. Ivabradine in the treatment of postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a single center experience. Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology.