Check your pulse while sitting down. Count the beats you feel for 10 seconds and multiply it by six to get your pulse rate. Got 70 and above? Most doctors will say that’s normal, but a recent study shows that a resting heart rate (measured while sitting or lying down) of 70 or more beats per minute (bpm) is a telltale sign of increased risk of heart attack.
Results of the BEAUTIFUL study also reveal that CAD (coronary artery disease) patients with LVD (left ventricular dysfunction) and a high resting heart rate are in greater risk of needing further heart surgery in the future. They also face greater risk of dying of heart disease. Through the same study, doctors discovered that lowering the heart rate of patients, using the new drug Ivabradine (Corolan), significantly reduces the risk of such coronary events.
BEAUTIFUL is the first study to evaluate the benefits of pure heart rate reduction using the new drug Ivabradine (Corolan). Doctors from 34 countries around the world served as investigators for this study.
Philippine Heart Association’s immediate past president Dr. Efren Vicaldo and cardiologist Dr. Ma. Rosario Sevilla presented these findings in the health forum organized by the Philippine College of Physicians and Servier Philippines, Inc., a research-based French organization dedicated to the development of new medicines.
For more information regarding the BEAUTIFUL study, visit www.beautiful-study.com.