Sex-Based Response of Heart Rate to Ivabradine in Different Heart Diseases

Objectives: The aim of our study is to observe the response of the intrinsic heart rate to ivabradine treatment in different heart diseases and to compare the response in both genders. Materials and Methods: It is a prospective, hospital-based, single-center, observational study which included 49 patients with a mean age of 61.43 years (male 59.2% and female 40.8%) having different heart diseases and taking guideline-approved medications. The baseline heart rate was recorded and again after 2 weeks of ivabradine treatment. Results: The mean heart rate at baseline and after 2 weeks was 92.63 and 69.37/min, respectively. Among the patients, 71.4% had their dose of ivabradine changed from baseline by the time of 2 weeks to achieve the heart rate, while 28.6% of the patients had their dose retained. Overall, 73.5% of the patients had achieved the heart rate after 2 weeks of the initiation of the ivabradine. While 86.2% of the males achieved the heart rate following the ivabradine administration, 55% of the women achieved the heart rate, which was statistically significant ( P = 0.015). No significant association between sex and heart rate achieved was noted in the ivabradine dose of 7.5 mg. No significant association between sex and heart rate achieved was noted among the patients with different heart diseases. Conclusion: Overall, ivabradine had a significant, desirable reduction in the heart rate among the patients with heart disease. Male gender might have a significantly better association with a desirable reduction in the heart rate in the current settings, which needs to be explored further in the future studies.