Does valsartan added to background therapy reduce plasma aldosterone in patients with chronic heart failure?
Valsartan reduces plasma aldosterone in heart failure, but aldosterone levels may not reliably mark disease progression.
Valsartan added to background therapy for heart failure produces sustained reduction in plasma aldosterone, consistent with the observed significant reduction in the combined mortality/morbidity end point. A similar reduction in all subgroups based on ACE-I or BB therapy, despite differing clinical outcomes in these subgroups, suggests that aldosterone plasma levels may not be a critical marker of the progression of heart failure.
Cohn et al. (Tue,) studied this question.