PMID- 20940450 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20110303 LR - 20220310 IS - 1940-4034 (Electronic) IS - 1074-2484 (Linking) VI - 15 IP - 4 DP - 2010 Dec TI - Impact of ''off-label'' use of ivabradine on exercise capacity, gas exchange, functional class, quality of life, and neurohormonal modulation in patients with ischemic chronic heart failure. PG - 349-55 LID - 10.1177/1074248410370326 [doi] AB - BACKGROUND: epidemiologic studies indicate that elevated heart rate (HR) is an independent risk factor for mortality and morbidity in patients (pts) with chronic heart failure (CHF). Clinical trials with beta-blockers suggest that HR reduction is an important mechanism of their benefit in pts with stable CHF. Pharmacologic inhibition of the I(f) current now provides the opportunity of pure HR reduction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of ''Off-Label'' use of ivabradine on exercise capacity, gas exchange, functional class, quality of life, and neurohormonal modulation in pts with ischemic CHF. METHODS: between January 2008 and June 2008, a graded maximal exercise test with respiratory gas analysis and an endurance test with constant workload corresponding to 85% of the peak VO(2) at the baseline and after 3 months were performed, and at the same times, N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels were also measured, in 60 pts (45 M, 15 F, mean age 52.7 +/- 5.3 years), with stable ischemic CHF, New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classes II (n = 35)-III (n = 25), with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)