Carvedilol reduced heart failure hospital admissions by >90% in patients with ischemic left ventricular dysfunction who had supramedian BNP but inframedian norepinephrine levels (P<0.001).
RCT (n=415)
BACKGROUND: Plasma neurohormones were analyzed for prediction of adverse outcomes and response to treatment in 415 patients with ischemic left ventricular dysfunction randomly assigned to receive carvedilol or placebo. METHODS AND RESULTS: Atrial natriuretic peptide, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), or norepinephrine (NE) levels above the group median were associated with increased mortality rates and heart failure. On multivariate analysis, both BNP and NE interacted with treatment to predict death or heart failure independent of age, New York Heart Association class, and left ventricular ejection fraction. For placebo, supramedian levels of BNP were associated with 3-fold the mortality rate of inframedian levels (20/104; 19% vs 6/99; 6%; P90% (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Carvedilol reduced mortality rates and heart failure in those with higher pretreatment BNP levels but lesser activation of plasma NE. Neurohumoral profiling may guide introduction of beta-blockade in heart failure.
Richards et al. (Tue,) conducted a rct in ischemic left ventricular dysfunction (n=415). Carvedilol vs. Placebo was evaluated on death or heart failure. Carvedilol reduced heart failure hospital admissions by >90% in patients with ischemic left ventricular dysfunction who had supramedian BNP but inframedian norepinephrine levels (P<0.001).