Efficacy in heart disease
Fortekor® – efficacy in heart disease
The efficacy of Fortekor (benazepril hydrochloride) in heart failure has been proven in several studies including the pivotal BENCH study (Benazepril in Canine Heart Failure) (BENCH study group (1999). J Vet Card, 1, 7-18). This large, multicentre, randomised, double-blinded trial included 162 dogs, with either chronic valvular heart disease (CVHD) or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). All the dogs received standard therapy (diuretics +/- digoxin as required) alongside either Fortekor or a placebo.
These studies have shown that in dogs with heart failure:
Fortekor improves quality of life
Fortekor visibly improves quality of life and clinical signs. The following benefits have been shown:
- Improved well-being (for example, increased readiness to play, less restlessness at night)
- Improved overall clinical condition
- Improvement in the following clinical signs:
- Coughing, respiratory effort, dyspnoea
- Exercise intolerance, activity levels
- Appetite
Congestive heart failure is a gradually progressive disease and, due to its gentle onset of action, the benefits of Fortekor are also progressive, with beneficial effects seen over the first 1–4 weeks of treatment. These benefits remain long term.
Fortekor slows disease progression
Fortekor slows disease progression to more advanced stages and, in some cases, even improves the clinical condition so much that the dog returns to a less severe stage of heart failure. In the BENCH study, dogs on Fortekor took twice as long to progress from International Small Animal Cardiac Health Council (ISACHC) stage 2 to ISACHC stage 3 – that meant an extra 6 months with less severe signs of heart failure.
In the Kolm study (U.S. Kolm and A. Kosztolich (2000). EJCAP, 10 (2), 119-130), the majority of dogs responded so well to Fortekor that they could be reclassified into a milder stage of heart failure.
In the BENCH study, dogs on Fortekor lived, on average, 2.7 times longer (9 months) than those not on treatment.
These beneficial effects are seen over the first 1–4 weeks of treatment and persist long term.