Key result
Vericiguat linked to ~71% fewer HF hospitalisations and ED visits in real-world cohort.
Why the study?
The efficacy and safety of vericiguat in a real-world cohort of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in Spain needed to be determined.
Does vericiguat improve functional class, reduce NT-proBNP levels, and decrease heart failure-related hospitalizations in a real-world cohort of patients with HFrEF and a recent worsening heart failure episode?
Cohort (n=103)
No
Does vericiguat improve functional class, reduce NT-proBNP levels, and decrease heart failure-related hospitalizations in a real-world cohort of patients with HFrEF and a recent worsening heart failure episode?
In a real-world setting, adding vericiguat to guideline-directed medical therapy in patients with HFrEF and a recent worsening episode significantly reduces NT-proBNP levels and subsequent heart failure admissions while improving functional class.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Vericiguat was associated with fewer HF events in this observational cohort; hypothesis-generating and should not yet change practice.
Aim: To determine the efficacy and safety of vericiguat in a real-world cohort of patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction in Spain. Methods: A prospective observational study of HF with reduced ejection fraction patients with a recent episode of worsening HF, requiring IV therapy, and who initiated vericiguat in a HF outpatient clinic was carried out. Of the 103 patients included, 28 (27.2%) were women. Results: At baseline, the mean age was 71.3 ± 9.4 years, the median ejection fraction was 34% (interquartile range; IQR 28-39%) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide was 2,034 pg/ml (IQR 910-3,372 pg/ml). Regarding HF treatments, 99% of patients were taking β-blockers, 97.1% sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, 96.1% sacubitril-valsartan, 91.2% mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists and 93.2% loop diuretics. After 1 year of treatment with vericiguat, New York Heart Association functional class improved from 36.9 and 63.1% in classes II and III to 72.1 and 16.3%, respectively, as did the visual analogue scale score, from 60 (50-75) to 70 (50-85; both p<0.001). N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels decreased from 2,034 pg/ml (IQR 910-3,372 pg/ml) to 1,282 pg/ml (IQR 562-3,303 pg/ml; p=0.034). The dosage of angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors increased significantly (p<0.001), and the dose of furosemide was reduced (p=0.032). The number of HF-related hospitalisations/emergency department visits within the previous year was 1.9 ± 1.3, decreasing to 0.55 ± 0.98 (p<0.001). At study end, 7.8% of patients had died (one-quarter of HF). Only 11.7% of patients discontinued vericiguat (6.8% owing to hypotension), and 77.7% achieved the target dose of 10 mg. Conclusion: In clinical practice, treatment with vericiguat is associated with substantial improvements in functional class and quality of life, reductions in natriuretic peptide levels and clinical events, and a good safety profile.
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Galván-Ruiz et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (n=103). Vericiguat vs. Baseline (previous 12 months) was evaluated on Mean number of HF-related hospitalisations/emergency department visits (p=<0.001). Vericiguat treatment in a real-world cohort significantly reduced the mean number of heart failure-related hospitalisations and emergency department visits from 1.9 to 0.55 per year.
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