Cardiac Stress Tests Are . . .
. . . Hazardous
Traditionally, blood vessel dilation is achieved by exercising on a treadmill. For the many patients who cannot complete treadmill exercise due to age or infirmity, pharmacological stress agents (sometimes referred to as "treadmill in a bottle") are used to cause dilation. Approximately 2.6 million cardiac stress tests are performed using pharmacological stress agents in the United States each year to identify the presence of heart disease.
Leading pharmocological stress agents are adenosine-based, meaning they stimulate the adenosine receptors in order to increase coronary blood flow. Their inability to distinguish between the many sub-types of adenosine receptors, however, leads to side effects including low blood pressure, wheezing and a dangerously slow heart rate.
. . . Advancing
Aderis Pharmaceuticals believes that cardiac stress tests should not cause unpleasant side effects. Binodenoson is a novel pharmacologic stress agent being developed and commercialized by our partner, King Pharmaceuticals. Binodenoson minimizes side effects and provides sustained coronary blood vessel dilation by specifically acting on the adenosine A2A receptor.
For a list of web sites providing more information about cardiovascular diseases, click here.
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