According to a phase 2 trial conducted in eight countries, the hormone relaxin reduces shortness of breath and cardiovascular death in people with heart failure who also have high blood pressure. 234 people were involved in the study who, within a few hours of arriving at a hospital, were randomly assigned to receive an intravenous infusion of a placebo or varying doses of relaxin, 10, 30 100 or 250 micrograms/kilogram (µ/kg) a day. The study was funded by Corthera, and several of the researchers worked for the biopharmaceutical company. The results were to be presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Orlando, Fla. After 60 days, fewer people given 30 µ/kg of relaxin had died from a cardiovascular cause or had to be readmitted to the hospital because of heart or kidney failure than in the placebo group: 2.6 percent compared with 17.2 percent. After 180 days, there were no cardiovascular deaths in the relaxin group at this dosage, but 14.3 percent of the placebo group had died from cardiovascular causes, the study found. The study also found that people in the relaxin 30 µ/kg group spent less time in the hospital than did those in the placebo group (10.2 days vs. 12 days) and lived longer after discharge (47.9 days vs. 44.2 days). No safety concerns were noted in the relaxin 30 µ/kg group. Based on this study, the researchers planned to conduct a phase 3 clinical trial of relaxin, at 30 µ/kg, in people with heart failure.