Evaluation of Varenicline (Champix) in Smoking Cessation for Patients Post-Acute Coronary Syndrome (EVITA) Trial

Summary

The EVITA study is a clinical trial that will test the effect of varenicline (Champix™), a new drug used to help people quit smoking, in patients who have suffered a heart attack. Varenicline has been recently shown to increase the number of otherwise healthy people who quit smoking compared to placebo (sugar pill). Although varenicline has been shown to reduce smoking in healthy populations, its effectiveness in patients recovering from a heart attack is unknown. The EVITA trial will help answer this question.

A total of 300 patients who have recently suffered a heart attack and are active smokers will be recruited in the study. For twelve weeks, half the patients will receive varenicline and the other half will receive placebo pills. Patients will be followed for a period of 12 months. During this time, patients will receive telephone calls and go to clinic visits in order to assess if they are smoking. These follow-ups will also assess any side effects and clinical events such as another heart attack or hospitalization that patients may have had. Smoking cessation will be checked using exhaled carbon monoxide readings and self-reports.

The EVITA trial will be the first study to examine the use of varenicline in patients who have recently had a heart attack. These patients, if they continue to smoke, are at high risk of having another cardiac event. If varenicline is shown to be useful in this population, it will have a major impact on prevention of cardiac events in patients who have suffered a heart attack.

Conditions

• Acute Coronary Syndrome

Interventions

DRUG

varenicline

0.5 mg tablet once a day for the first three days, a 0.5 mg tablet twice a day for the following four days, and a 1.0 mg tablet twice a day for the remainder of the 12-week treatment.

OTHER

placebo

0.5 mg tablet once a day for the first three days, a 0.5 mg tablet twice a day for the following four days, and a 1.0 mg tablet twice a day for the remainder of the 12-week treatment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Unity Health Toronto

  collaborator OTHER

• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

  collaborator OTHER

• Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre

  collaborator OTHER

• Mark Eisenberg

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Mark J Eisenberg, MD, MPH · SMBD - Jewish General Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2009-09-30

Primary Completion

2015-06-30

Completion

2015-12-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations