Three-Year COPD Study Found No Increase in Cardiac Events With Advair...( Analysis of Cardiac Adverse Events ...),Health

Analysis of Cardiac Adverse Events in TORCH Showed Frequency Highest in

Placebo Group

TORONTO and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The use of Advair Diskus(R) 500/50 (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) was associated with the lowest number of cardiovascular adverse events compared to other treatment arms in a post-hoc analysis of data from the TOwards a Revolution in COPD Health (TORCH) study presented at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society meeting in Toronto today.

The TORCH study followed more than 6,000 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) over a 3-year period. Because cardiovascular mortality is a common cause of death in patients with COPD, investigators assessed how Advair or its component medications affected the rate of cardiac adverse events compared to the individual components and placebo in this analysis.

The results found that 17 percent of patients treated with Advair reported a cardiac adverse event, compared with 21 percent of those in the placebo group, 19 percent of those in the salmeterol group and 20 percent of those in the fluticasone propionate group. The rate of cardiac death was also lower in the Advair arm as compared with the placebo arm (4% vs. 5%).

"Because the TORCH study followed over 6,000 patients for 3 years, it gives us the unique opportunity to look for cardiovascular trends in patients with COPD. After looking closely at all of the data, we certainly do not see any increase in cardiovascular risks associated with Advair or salmeterol," said Gary Ferguson, MD, Pulmonary Research Institute of Southeast Michigan and member of the TORCH steering committee. "In fact, Advair had the lowest number of cardiovascular adverse effects and we see this as an important finding."

Advair contains two medications, an inhaled corticosteroid and a long-acting beta-agonist, that w
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