Nasal spray administered at home could be safely used to treat recurrent cardiac arrhythmias

Nasal spray administered at home could be safely used to treat recurrent cardiac arrhythmias

A clinical trial led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine showed that a nasal spray administered to patients at home without a doctor successfully and safely treats recurrent episodes of a condition that causes rapid heart arrhythmias. The study was published on March 25th TThe Journal of the American College of Cardiology,provides real-world evidence that a wide range of patients can safely and effectively use the experimental drug Etripamil to treat recurrent paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) at home, potentially sparing them repeated hospitalizations for more invasive treatments.

The study is the latest in a series of studies by lead author Dr. James Ip, professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and colleagues to demonstrate the potential of nasal spray calcium. Channel blocker Etripamil as a home treatment for PSVT. Dr. Ip received compensation as a steering committee member from Milestone Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Etripamil and sponsor of the study.

Patients with PSVT experience sudden and recurrent heart palpitations caused by abnormal electrical activity in the upper chambers of the heart. Although the episodes are generally not life-threatening, they can be frightening and cause shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness or fainting, and lead to frequent visits to the emergency room. Treatment for PSVT often requires hospitalization for intravenous medication administration. Some patients undergo a procedure called cardiac ablation, in which the doctor threads thin wires through their blood vessels to the heart, treating the short circuits that cause the abnormal normal heart rhythm.

Dr. Ip and colleagues previously showed that nearly two-thirds of patients with PSVT who took one or more doses of the calcium channel blocker ettripamil without a doctor present experienced symptom relief within 17 minutes on average. The latest study builds on these findings and shows that under more realistic circumstances, etripamil is safe and effective in a larger patient population and could be safely used to treat multiple episodes of PSVT.

The new study involved 1,116 patients at 148 sites in the United States, Canada and South America. No pretest dose was required under medical supervision, as was the case in previous studies. Patients with a history of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter who were excluded from the previous studies were also included. After self-administration of the first dose, patients monitored their hearts for one hour with a home electrocardiogram monitor, took an additional dose if necessary, and were allowed to self-treat up to four PSVT episodes with etripamil. Two-thirds of patients experienced relief within an hour, and the average time to symptom relief was 17 minutes. Mild, temporary nasal symptoms such as runny nose, stuffy or uncomfortable nose, and bloody nose were common after the first use of etripamil but became less frequent with subsequent use.

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