About Heart Failure and Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
Many people misunderstand exactly what heart failure means. Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop. Heart failure is a serious illness in which the heart doesn’t pump blood through your body as well as it should. Your heart still beats, but it pumps less nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood to the rest of your body. Because of this, heart failure can make you feel tired or weak. Heart failure can also cause swelling and fluid buildup in your legs, feet, and even your lungs. Fluid buildup in your lungs is often referred to as “congestion,” which is why heart failure is sometimes called "congestive heart failure" (CHF).
About Acute Heart Failure and Acutely Decompensated Heart Failure (ADHF)
When a congestive heart failure patient’s condition worsens to the point that a visit to the hospital may be required, the patient is described as having experienced acute heart failure or acutely decompensated heart failure. The term decompensated is a medical term used to describe patients whose condition has worsened.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
NATRECOR® should not be used in patients with certain types of heart failure. NATRECOR® may reduce kidney function in some patients. In clinical studies, more patients receiving NATRECOR® had increases in a common blood measurement called "serum creatinine" than patients who were treated with standard therapy. Increases in serum creatinine often suggest that kidney function has declined. These changes were particularly noticeable at higher doses. For this reason, it is important your doctor uses NATRECOR® at the recommended dose.
In some of the clinical trials more patients who were treated with NATRECOR® died than patients treated with other standard medications. These differences were small and the deaths may or may not have been caused by NATRECOR®. Use of NATRECOR® can lower blood pressure. When NATRECOR® causes a drop in blood pressure it can be a serious side effect requiring treatment. It is important that your doctor only use NATRECOR® in a setting where your blood pressure can be closely monitored.
Be sure to ask your healthcare provider about NATRECOR®'s potential side effects, and other treatment options for heart failure.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please click here to see Full Product Information for NATRECOR®.
INDICATION
NATRECOR® (nesiritide) is a drug that is used by doctors, primarily in the hospital setting. NATRECOR® helps patients with heart failure when their condition worsens to the point that they have difficulty breathing when they are not active (like when they are resting in bed) or when they engage in slight physical activity (like brushing their teeth).
