New med to treat heart failure has a dark side

Novartis is claiming that it has a “once in a decade” medical breakthrough on its hands.

It’s a new heart failure med called Entresto that was just approved by the FDA — and some docs say they’re already getting phone calls from patients who are eager to start the drug.

But as I told you back in February, there are some dark secrets about this pill that you’re never going to hear about in a glitzy TV ad or an FDA press release.

Like how Entresto can cause your heart to suddenly stop beating. Or how its side effects were so debilitating that patients quit Entresto in droves during clinical trials.

Or how the FDA may have just approved a heart pill that could expose millions of us to dementia or even Alzheimer’s.

Affairs of the heartEarlier this year Entresto generated so much media publicity that it sounded as if an actual cure for heart failure had been discovered. It became the lead story on every single news broadcast.

But one thing you probably didn’t hear is that Entresto may be better at causing Alzheimer’s than curing heart failure.

Despite all the hoopla surrounding the drug, some experts are actually terrified by how Entresto works. And you should be, too.

You see, your body produces a key enzyme called neprilysin that breaks down the toxic amyloid beta protein that researchers believe causes Alzheimer’s.

But Entresto blocks neprilysin from doing its job. And the next thing you know, clusters of amyloid beta plaque could develop rapidly in your brain.

So is Entresto going to bring about an explosion of Alzheimer’s cases?

We don’t know. Because even though this risk was completely foreseeable, Novartis never even looked for signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s during the drug’s trials.

Talk about a case of see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. In fact, the FDA approved Entresto and gave Novartis until 2019 to wrap up a study on whether it may cause Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Of course, by then millions of people will be taking the pill.

And while Novartis and the FDA were happy to sweep a potential Azheimer’s link under the rug, there were other shocking side effects during the Entresto trials that couldn’t be ignored. I’m talking about dangerously low blood pressure, impaired kidney function, and sky-high blood potassium levels that could even stop your heart!

Entresto can also cause a side effect called angioedema, an allergic reaction that can trigger a sudden swelling in your face and neck that can choke you. Patients with angioedema often need a breathing tube or a surgical incision in their throats to allow them to breathe.

In fact another drug chemically similar to Entresto was rejected by the FDA because of the risk of angioedema.

Entresto’s side effects were so bad that 18 percent of trial participants dropped out. Think about that — these were desperate heart failure patients who decided they’d rather take their chances without the drug.

Facts like these — along with a potential Alzheimer’s link — have medical experts like Dr. Marvin A. Konstam from Tufts University wondering whether Entresto will be worth the risk.

“How do we know what will happen in the real world?” he asked.

And the answer is — we don’t.

So before you buy into the CDC’s latest guidance on salt, remember that those limits have been totally debunked. And not just by independent researchers — but now by our own government, too.

Sources:

“FDA approves new drug to treat heart failure” FDA News Release, July 7, 2015, fda.gov

“Investigators link Novartis’ would-be cardio blockbuster to Alzheimer’s risk” John Carroll, February 9, 2015, FierceBiotech, fiercebiotech.com

“After sinking in, PARADIGM-HF critiqued at HFSA sessions” Steve Stiles, September 25, 2014, Medscape, Medscape.com