Diovan plus standard therapy cuts CV events

New data from the Jikei Heart Study, published in the current edition of The Lancet, show that adding Swiss drug major Novartis' antihypertensive Diovan (valsartan) to conventional therapy, brings about a 39% reduction in cardiovascular events. The study, which was conducted by independent researchers at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan, also demonstrated that the combined regimen lowered the occurrence of stroke 40%.

The trial, which was a prospective randomized, open-label, blinded endpoint assessment, enrolled 3,081 subjects who suffer from high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease or congestive heart failure. The program was funded by an unrestricted grant from Novartis, although the Swiss firm had no role in study design, data collection or analysis, or in writing the final report.

The results indicated that adding Diovan to standard therapy lowered the frequency of angina pectoris 65% relative to the patient group that only received the standard treatment. In addition, the combination cut the occurrence of heart failure and aortic dissection 46% and 81%, respectively, compared with the control arm.