Effect of Ivabradine on Patients With Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2020-05-08
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) occurs in approximately 500,000 Americans,
but predominates in women with a 5:1 ratio. Patients with POTS experience debilitating
tachycardia upon postural changes such as standing that impairs their quality of life.
Tachycardia is clinically defined as a heart rate greater than 100 beats/min; and in POTS
patients, the prolonged heart rate increase is greater than 30 beats/min or increases to 120
beats/min within the first ten minutes of a diagnostic tilt table test without postural
hypotension. There are currently no effective treatment methods for POTS. However, several
studies suggest Ivabradine could be a main treatment option for POTS because Ivabradine
specifically inhibits the f-channels (If) within the sinoatrial (SA) node, which slows the
heart rate. Currently in the US, Ivabradine is mainly prescribed to treat chronic heart
failure. It is well tolerated in patients, but it is not commonly prescribed for POTS. It has
been also used for treatment of inappropriate sinus tachycardia with good benefit. The
hypothesis for this experiment is that Ivabradine will reduce tachycardia and improve
functional status in patients with POTS.