Successful treatment with serelaxin for severe congestive heart failure

Acute heart failure is a clinical syndrome characterized by the fluid overload and haemodynamic abnormalities and the development of end-organ damage. Serelaxin is a recombinant form of human relaxin-2, a naturally occurring peptide hormone that mediates cardiac and renal adaptations during pregnancy. Preclinical and clinical studies data suggest that serelaxin improves haemodynamics at the vascular, cardiac, and renal levels and provides effective congestion relief. A novel drug may protect the heart, kidneys, and liver from damage by inhibiting inflammation, oxidative stress, cell death, and tissue fibrosis, and stimulating angiogenesis. Serelaxin 48-hour infusion in patient with severe decompensated heart failure was associated with a relief of signs and symptoms of heart failure, significant increase in urine output, reduction in congestion assessed by clinical signs and bioimpedance vector analysis, improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction and stroke volume, decrease in NT-proBNP, liver damage markers and serum creatinine, without any negative events.

Key words

Acute heart failure, treatment, serelaxin.