Ivabradine: Role in the Chronic Heart Failure Armamentarium

Ivabradine is approved to reduce hospitalizations for patients with symptomatic heart failure, reduced ejection fraction, and persistently elevated heart rate despite otherwise maximal medical therapy. However, the eligible patient population is a small fraction of those with heart failure overall. This review summarizes the major clinical evidence supporting the use of ivabradine, identifies and discusses areas of uncertainty from the clinical trial data, helps describe the population most likely to benefit, and attempts to place ivabradine within the multifaceted treatment scheme currently used for patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.