Your Guide to Verquvo (Vericiguat): Uses, Alternatives, & More
speciality medications
Verquvo, a newer prescription drug, is showing a lot of promise as a way for people to manage their chronic heart failure (CHF).
It’s innovative, it’s got a unique mechanism of action, and it can work well as an adjunctive therapy – e.g., along with other heart drugs – for people who don’t respond well to those drugs alone.
Here’s a nugget of information that all people with CHF are keenly aware of:
When you have heart failure, that impacts just about every aspect of your life. Having a cocktail of medications for heart rate, blood pressure, fluid retention, and other aspects of CHF that allow you to live more comfortably and normally can make individuals and their families much, much happier. (Figuring out which heart medications are right for you and your condition can even extend your life.)
Today, let’s give you the information about Verquvo you need to make an informed decision.
What is Verquvo? What’s it used for? How does it compare to other heart medications?
Here’s everything you need to know.What Is Verquvo (Vericiguat)?
Verquvo is a prescription medication designed to help patients with chronic heart failure, particularly those who have experienced a recent hospitalization or need additional help managing their symptoms.
It’s also a newer option when compared to more traditional CHF meds, like ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, and diuretics.
Verquvo was approved in 2021, and, now, doctors and patients are starting to see promising results in chronic care.
Verquvo works a little differently than many other heart medications.
It’s a common strategy for heart failure meds to focus on mitigating unhelpful blood pressure or heart rate trends.
Verquvo neatly sidesteps these tactics and, instead, directly influences the body’s nitric oxide signaling pathway.
This pathway is a key player in managing heart strain and blood flow.
Verquvo is available in the United States for a staggering sticker price of about $650.00 for a one-month supply. That adds up over time. One year of treatment might cost nearly $8,000.00 – for just one medication, when you’re likely taking multiple.
Alternatively, through NorthWestPharmacy.com, you can buy a four-week supply of brand Verquvo for about $115.00. Per pill, that’s a savings of up to 81%!
What Is Verquvo Used For?
Usually, Verquvo is used to manage specific types of chronic health failure – and, further, in specific situations.
Also, since Verquvo is a newer drug, right now, many doctors are prescribing it as a second-line treatment after more familiar options like beta blockers.
The primary uses of Verquvo include:
CHF management. Verquvo is most commonly prescribed to patients who have a reduced ejection fraction. (This means that the heart’s left ventricle isn’t pumping blood efficiently enough.)
Preventing hospitalizations. While chronic heart failure is a serious condition that requires long-term management, Verquvo is a drug patients can use to have a better experience with CHF.
One of Verquvo’s primary benefits is reducing the risk of recurrent hospitalizations caused by worsening heart failure.
Reducing cardiovascular death. By improving blood flow and reducing strain on the heart, Verquvo can help lower the risk of death related to heart failure complications.
Who Should Take Verquvo?
On one level, the answer to this question is simple:
If your doctor has told you that you’re a good candidate for Verquvo and has written you a valid, updated prescription for the medication, that’s probably a good route to take.
More abstractly, Verquvo may be worth taking if you:
- Have symptomatic chronic heart failure despite being on other heart failure medications.
- Have recently been hospitalized due to heart failure or require additional support for ongoing management.
- Are dealing with reduced ejection fraction, meaning their heart cannot adequately pump blood to meet the body’s needs.
But don’t match yourself with this medication on your own!
Since this is a newer medication and one that’s often used in concert with other CHF treatments, you’ll need to work closely with your healthcare provider to make sure Verquvo will work well for you and your health goals.
Verquvo Mechanism of Action: How Does It Work?
Verquvo (vericiguat) is a soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator.
That’s quite the definition.
Let’s break that down:
- ‘Soluble’ just means that the medication can dissolve in water. In a clinical context, this means Verquvo can move around in your bloodstream.
- Guanylate cyclase is a helper protein in your cells. It helps make a chemical called cGMP, which is a material that helps your heart work better.
- A stimulator supports something as it works better or faster. In this case, Verquvo allows your body’s guanylate cyclase (or GC) proteins to work better, which in turn helps your blood vessels relax (and your heart work less hard).
The end result of all of this action is reduced heart strain and less or prevented cardiovascular damage.
Verquvo Side Effects: What to Watch For
Verquvo is a powerful prescription medication.
That means it’s good at helping people with chronic conditions.
It’s also a risk for potentially powerful side effects.
Here’s the good news: Most of Verquvo’s side effects should be mild, and, further, should go away as your body gets used to the drug.
That said, it’s a good idea to have an idea of what to look out for so you can get treatment or adjust your dose if you need to.
Common side effects of Verquvo are:
- Hypotension, or low blood pressure. As Verquvo helps relax blood vessels, it may cause blood pressure to drop too low in some patients.
- Anemia. Some patients may experience reduced red blood cell counts, which can cause symptoms such as fatigue, pale skin, and shortness of breath.
- Gastrointestinal issues. Finally, some people may experience nausea or diarrhea, especially in those first few weeks as they’re getting used to the med.
There is a short list of potentially more severe side effects that can happen when people start taking Verquvo, too.
While scary things like severe hypotension, allergic reactions, or serious anemia have a low likelihood of actually occurring, know that it isn’t impossible.
If you start having any rashes, experiencing a rapid heartbeat, have inexplicable and persistent fatigue, or experience shortness of breath, notify your healthcare team at once.
Verquvo vs. Entresto: How Do They Compare?
Verquvo is far from the only or first medication of its kind.
Entresto is another popular medication often used to treat chronic heart failure.
How do these two medications stack up against each other?
Here’s a quick, skimmable rundown to save for later:
Entresto (Sacubitril/Valsartan) Fast Facts
Entresto is an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor, or ARNI. (It works by relaxing blood vessels and helping your body get rid of extra fluid, so your heart doesn’t have to work as hard.)
Entresto is primarily used to reduce blood pressure, prevent hospitalizations, and generally improve length and quality of life in patients who specifically have heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.
When you look directly at Verquvo vs. Entresto, you’ll find…
Entresto focuses on blood pressure control through blocking mechanisms that usually tense up blood vessels and help your body stockpile fluids, while Verquvo works by addressing heart strain through the nitric oxide signaling pathway.
Entresto is a common first-line (or first-choice) treatment for heart failure, while doctors may wait until other medications don’t work to recommend Verquvo.
They may also consider adding Verquvo to an existing treatment plan for patients who may need more support.
Are There Verquvo Alternatives? Other Heart Failure Medications
While Verquvo is a unique medication, it’s not the only medication that’s available for patients who have chronic heart failure, of course.
If you’ve looked at all of the information, talked with your doctor, and determined that Verquvo may not be the right choice for you, that’s okay.
A quick list of the most common alternatives to Verquvo might include:
Glycosides: Digoxin
Digoxin is a medication that makes the force behind heart muscle contractions a little less intense. When used properly, it can also regulate heart rhythm.
This means, for you, that if you’re a patient suffering from heart failure and you also are looking for a way to regulate arrhythmias, digoxin can be a good medication to check out.
Digoxin isn’t typically a first-line treatment, but it can be added to a more comprehensive treatment plan for patients dealing with stubborn symptoms.
ACE Inhibitors (You Have Options)
ACE inhibitors are a long-standing class of medications used to treat CHF.
They work by relaxing blood vessels and lowering blood pressure, thereby reducing how hard your heart has to work.
Less strain, less stress.
There are a lot of ACE inhibitors out there. Depending on your unique goals and circumstances, your doctor may recommend any of the following:
If it seems like all of these drugs have similar names, while that is confusing, it is by design.
Pharmaceutical etymology relies on common suffixes, so, if a group of drugs all end in the same group of letters, they probably all work the same way.
(If you’re familiar with beta blockers and their shared “-olol” ending, you’ll have already seen this in action. But more on beta blockers in a moment!)
Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs)
Angiotensin II receptor blockers are very similar to ACE inhibitors. But, instead of inhibiting something called an “angiotensin converting enzyme,” ARBs directly block the receptors of these tensing-up proteins (instead of trying to convert or reduce the number of angiotensins to begin with).
Often, patients get prescribed ARBs when they can’t easily tolerate ACE inhibitors.
Common ARBs, complete with a common “-artan” ending for the generic drugs, include:
Aldosterone Antagonists
Another class of CHF drugs, one particularly useful for heart failure patients who may also be dealing with unhelpful fluid retention, is “aldosterone antagonists.”
These medications work by blocking the effects of an agent called “aldosterone,” which is a hormone that contributes to water retention.
If a doctor prescribes you an aldosterone antagonist, it’ll likely be either spironolactone or eplerenone. Sometimes, when people start taking aldosterone antagonists, they experience a little dizziness as their bodies get used to their dosage. That should go away with time.
Beta Blockers
Beta blockers are a mainstay of CHF treatment.
Doctors will often prescribe beta blockers to patients with heart failure since they’re very good at reducing the amount of work a heart needs to do.
They slow heart rate and decrease blood pressure quite effectively.
Word to the wise: Since that’s what many of these drugs do, it’s a good idea to avoid taking several of these drugs at the same time – as you don’t want your heart rate to get too low.
Your doctor will keep an eye on this, especially if you need to take a couple of different CHF drugs to manage your symptoms.
A few examples of common beta blockers include:
SGLT2 Inhibitors
SGLT2 inhibitors – or “sodium-glucose co-transporter 2” inhibitors – work by lowering blood sugar by making your kidneys remove more sugar through your urine.
They started off as diabetes meds, but, when used under doctor supervision, heart failure patients can benefit from them as well.
Common SGLT2 inhibitors include:
Diuretics (for Fluid Overload)
When you’re dealing with chronic heart failure, you’re not just dealing with pain and symptoms in one body system.
An underperforming, overstressed heart leads to frustrating side effects throughout your body, as you’re likely all too aware.
One common symptom of heart failure is fluid buildup throughout the body, which can be extremely uncomfortable to live with. Diuretics can help reduce fluid buildup and increase your quality of life (possibly by a lot!).
Common diuretics prescribed to those with CHF include:
Is Verquvo Right for You? What About a Verquvo Alternative?
Verquvo is an innovative option for CHF patients who haven’t yet found a treatment plan that works well for their specific set of symptoms.
Right now, it’s the only medication like it – which makes it an exciting potential addition to your current dosing regimen.
The downside, of course, is that it’s a very expensive drug.
Fortunately, with a little outside-the-box (or outside-the-border!) thinking, you may be able to save up to 81% on this CHF medication.
NorthWestPharmacy.com is pleased to provide convenient and reliably low-cost access to a variety of heart disease meds, including Verquvo.
Interested in learning more? Head to our Verquvo page for more information, and don’t hesitate for a moment to reach out to our customer service team for any assistance you may require. The team at NorthWestPharmacy.com looks forward to serving you!
