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Astra-Zeneca corporation. This paper discusses therapies that are not approved by the US Food and
• Try reinstituting an ACE inhibitor?
Drug Administration for the use under discussion. • Begin low-dose beta-blocker therapy?
These findings suggested that ACE failure. Patients were also receiving diuretics,
inhibitors should remain first-line therapy for digoxin, and beta-blockers. The primary end
patients with heart failure and left ventricular points were time to death and combined all-
systolic dysfunction. However, since losartan cause morbidity and mortality. The mean
was better tolerated than captopril, it suggest- duration of follow-up was 23 months.
ed as well that ARBs could be considered in The trial found no difference in all-cause
patients who cannot tolerate ACE inhibitors. mortality: 19.7% in the valsartan group vs
19.4% in the placebo group. However, there
■ COMBINATION THERAPY was a significant 13.3% risk reduction in the
WITH ACE INHIBITORS AND ARBs combined end point of all-cause mortality and
morbidity in the valsartan group. This differ-
Combination therapy improves exercise ence was almost entirely due to a reduction in
tolerance the number of hospitalizations for heart fail-
Several studies evaluated the effect of combi- ure, with a 27.5% risk reduction for heart fail-
nation therapy on exercise tolerance and ure hospitalizations in the valsartan group
symptoms in heart failure. compared with placebo. Beneficial effects also
Hamroff et al28 randomized patients with were seen in a number of secondary end
severe congestive heart failure who were points, including NYHA class, ejection frac-
receiving an ACE inhibitor in maximal doses tion, and quality-of-life measurements.
to receive either placebo or losartan 50 mg The CHARM study (Candesartan in
daily, with evaluations of peak aerobic capaci- Heart Failure: Assessment of Reduction in
ty and NYHA class at 0, 3, and 6 months. The Morbidity and Mortality)31 should further
losartan group had a significant improvement delineate the role of ARBs in heart failure.
in peak aerobic capacity and alleviation of This multicenter, randomized, placebo-con-
their symptoms. trolled trial has enrolled 7,601 patients with
The RESOLVD pilot study (Randomized NYHA class II to IV heart failure, and
Evaluation of Strategies for Left Ventricular includes patients with ejection fractions both
In mild fluid Dysfunction)29 included 768 patients who greater than and less than 40%. The group
were randomized to receive either candesar- with an ejection fraction lower than 40% is
overload, resist tan, candesartan plus enalapril, or enalapril divided into ACE inhibitor (combination)-
the temptation alone for 43 weeks. treated and ACE inhibitor-intolerant groups,
At the end of the study there was no dif- and each of these groups has been randomized
to increase the ference among the groups in NYHA function- to receive either candesartan or placebo. All
diuretic al class, quality of life, or 6-minute walking patients will be followed for 42 months, and
distance. There was, however, a trend towards the primary overall end point is all-cause
immediately a higher ejection fraction in the candesartan- mortality. The trial is scheduled to finish in
plus-enalapril group compared with the groups 2003.
receiving either therapy alone. There also was
a significant benefit with combination therapy ■ CASE DISCUSSION
in blood pressure control and less of an
increase in end-diastolic volume and end-sys- In the case presented, the patient’s medical
tolic volume. The investigators concluded regimen includes no therapy shown to prevent
that most patients tolerated combination progression of his disease, which already has
therapy, and that there may be some benefits progressed from hypertension to moderate left
to using it. ventricular dysfunction.
Although this patient shows signs and
Effect on morbidity and mortality symptoms of mild fluid overload, the tempta-
Val-HeFT (the Valsartan Heart Failure tion to increase the diuretic dose immediately
Trial)30 aimed to determine if there is a clini- should be avoided: although this might relieve
cal benefit to adding an ARB (valsartan 40 mg symptoms temporarily, it will lead to further
twice a day titrated to 160 mg twice a day) to activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldos-
an ACE inhibitor in 5,010 patients with heart terone system.