The latest trial of a new heartbeat abnormality drug shows quite promising results in the condition. The drug, called dronedarone, has been tested for atrial fibrillation that is affecting nearly 2.2m Americans.

In atrial fibrillation, the upper heart chamber quivers instead of beating energetically and it can cause blood clots formation to block some brain artery can cause strokes.

In an international trial in which 2,301 patients with the condition were included, the researchers found that dronedarone decreased the number of hospitalization because of heart attack, strokes and other problems nearly 24%. The report of the trial has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine Feb.12 issue.

Dronedrone review status has been assigned by the US Food and Drug Administration and to discuss the possible approval of the drug, FDA advisory committee to meet on March 19.

Dr. Richard L. Page, who was one of the authors of the study, says about the new drug, “we can expect its approval quite favorably, as the general literature provided on the drug has offered safety as well as efficacy.”

Nearly one out of every 20 Americans have to experience the condition by the age of 65, and by the age of 85, these numbers reach to one out of every ten. Currently, the condition is treated with the help of beta blockers and other channel blockers of calcium.