A new heart failure medication from Novartis may help decrease cardiovascular deaths. In a landmark PARADIGM-HF trial, the medication, LCZ696, cut cardiovascular deaths by 20 percent while keeping more patients alive and resulting in fewer hospitalizations.

On August 30, Novartis revealed at the European Society of Cardiology congress that its investigational heart failure medicine is two times more effective than enalapril, an ACE-inhibitor.

The results from the study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Patients who were given the drug from Novartis were less likely to be hospitalized for sudden worsening of heart failure and were more likely to be alive than patients who were given ACE-inhibitor enalapril. Additionally, patients who were provided with LCZ696 or enalapril also received the current best treatment.

When compared with enalapril, LCZ696 showed promising and sustainable benefits. The drug helped to reduce the risk of cardiovascular deaths by 20 percent, while reducing heart failure hospitalizations by 21 percent and reducing the risk of all-cause mortality by 16 percent.

David Epstein, Division Head, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said in a statement, “By demonstrating a very significant reduction in cardiovascular deaths while improving Quality of Life, Novartis’ new heart failure medicine, LCZ696, represents one of the most important cardiology advances of the last decade.” Epstein continued, “We want to thank leading cardiologists from around the world for their collaboration with us and their determination in advancing this important new life saving therapy for heart failure patients.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 5.1 million people in the U.S. have heart failure.