Doctors' fury as NICE bans £2-a-day heart drug that could help 40,000 patients



Dronedarone treats a type of abnormal heartbeat that affects one million people in the UK

An NHS ban on a heart drug costing just £2 a day could put thousands of lives at risk, doctors said yesterday.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has blocked the first new drug in 25 years to treat atrial fibrillation - a type of abnormal heartbeat affecting more than one million in Britain.

Despite the widespread availability of dronedarone in Europe and the United States, the rationing watchdog claims it is not cost effective enough.

Now 176 cardiologists - backed by 25 MPs and peers - have written to NICE insisting the drug could help more than 40,000 sufferers who would otherwise face the risk of heart attacks or strokes.

They argue current atrial fibrillation drugs either do not work or have serious sideeffects. These include toxic damage to the lungs, kidneys and liver.

Dronedarone costs £67 a month, around £2 a day, which is more expensive than approved drugs.

But its supporters say the cost is outweighed by the amount which would be saved in treatment costs for sufferers.

Patients whose symptoms are not controlled frequently end up being admitted to hospital for emergency treatment at a cost of thousands of pounds.

NICE published its provisional decision not to approve dronedarone on Christmas Eve. A final decision is expected in March, but it is unusual for there to be a change of mind.

The cardiologists state in an open letter: 'The draft guidance is a shocking decision, based on cost saving and will be extremely detrimental to many patients with AF, their carers and their medical professionals - all of whom had looked to this innovative treatment as a chance to restore long-term health and improve quality of life for appropriate-patients.'



Dr Derick Todd, consultant cardiologist at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, said: 'One in four of us will one day suffer from AF and this new drug is an important advance in its treatment.'

Patients with atrial fibrillation are at risk of a stroke because the rapidly beating heart fails to pump blood away from its chambers properly.

More than 40,000 people could be at needless risk of heart attack and stroke because of the ban, doctors have said (file picture)

This can cause blood clots which then move on to damage the brain. It mainly affects the

elderly, although some athletes are also prone to the condition.

Trudie Lobban, chief executive of the Atrial Fibrillation Association, said: 'Paying out around £60 a month to keep a patient's condition controlled is a small price to pay compared to the thousands it costs to treat every stroke suffered by an AF patient. There is a serious danger that patients whose AF is not controlled will have a stroke.

'Around 16,000 patients a year currently have a stroke. Around 4,300 will end up in hospital for a long period of time, 3,200 will lose their independence and end up in residential care and 8,500 die.'

Martin Harman, 37, a company director from York, was diagnosed with the condition four years ago following surgery for a sports injury.

But he came off his medication regime two years ago because of nausea, sleepless nights and fatigue.

He said: 'It was as bad as having the condition and I didn't want to be on drugs long-term with their toxic side effects.

'I would like to be able to go on a drug that works without giving me terrible side effects.'

Last night a spokesman for NICE said: 'In this case, dronedarone costs more and has not been shown to be more effective than other treatments for atrial fibrillation.'