Patients

With the US Food and Drug Admistration’s approval of NATRECOR® (nesiritide) in 2001, Scios brought physicians the first new treatment for patients with acutely decompensated heart failure since 1987. Today physicians across the US prescribe NATRECOR® to treat patients who experience episodes of acutely decompensated heart failure with dyspnea (shortness of breath) at rest or with minimal activity (such as talking, eating or bathing).


What is ADHF?
What does heart failure mean?

What is NATRECOR® (nesiritide)?
How does it work?


Please see the Important Safety Information below.

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). In clinical studies, NATRECOR® improved breathing and lowered the blood pressure in their lungs.

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 Prescribing Information for NATRECOR®.