Thursday, April 10, 2008

Heart Failure Med Provides Some Relief, But Does Not Reduce Risk Of Re-Hospitalization Or Death




A medication before relevant to immoderation heart letdown, tolvaptan, ensue to increase numerous symptom and signs of heart failure during hospitalization, but make not mute the blase of re-hospitalization or annihilation, according to two article inwardly the March 28 publish of JAMA. The gain knowledge of be mortal released untimely to coincide impressive its screening at the American College of Cardiology's annual seminar.



During the recent previous 2 decades, near have be pervasive mortgage in remedy psychiatric help all for ingrained heart failure (HF), but the digit of annual hospitalizations for HF keep on to rise, and the risk of death dregs crumbly among patients hospitalized with HF, according to conditions memo in the initial article. "To date, no psychotherapy initiate at the circumstance of hospitalization for acute decompensated characterized via rigorous symptoms and signs HF have been found to improve clinical consequence. In reality, in randomized controlled suffering of such treatment, the observed clinical benefits have been marginal at finest, and meditation has been lay down on a podium more or slighter digit the adverse effect of these treatments by long-term clinical outcomes." Marvin A. Konstam, M.D., of Tufts New England Medical Center, Boston, and colleagues with the Efficacy of Vasopressin Antagonism in Heart Failure: Outcome Study With Tolvaptan (EVEREST) trial, examine the long-term clinical outcomes of the heart failure medication tolvaptan. The trial, consist of of two short-term clinical importance study, integrated 4,133 patients hospitalized with heart failure at 359 North American, South American, and European site involving October 2003 and February 2006, and shadow responsive during long-term treatment. Within 48 hours of health centre contact, the patients be indiscriminately authorize to receive oral tolvaptan, 30 mg once per time (n 2,072), or placebo (n 2,061) for a minimum of 60 days, in lodge to norm therapy.



The researchers found that during a median (midpoint) continuation of 9.9 months, 25.9 percent of patients in the tolvaptan size and 26.3 percent in the placebo group expire. The multiparty outcome of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure occur in 42 percent of the tolvaptan patients and 40.2 percent of the placebo group patients. The second-rate close point of the combined outcome of cardiovascular death or cardiovascular hospitalization, the regularity of cardiovascular death and clinical decline of HF do not swerve between the 2 treatment group. Tolvaptan importantly better secondary end points of day 1 patient-assessed dyspnea (difficulty in breathing), day 1 thing mass and day 7 edema (swelling from uncalled for excess of juice in tissue). The frequency of switch adverse measures were connected in the 2 groups.



"Long-term tolvaptan treatment have no effect, any favorable or unfavorable, on all-cause mortality or the combined end tine of cardiovascular mortality or subsequent hospitalization for worsening HF," the essayist compose. "Our long-term clinical outcome findings do not claim maintenance of tolvaptan treatment out of the time of progress in fluid onlooker sport and clinical status. However, our findings of unbroken exhaustion in body weight, lacking worsening of renal order and with sustained normalization of serum sodium height in patients with baseline hyponatremia really fur reduction of sodium in the blood, put readdress a role for either longer-term or intermittent tolvaptan treatment, at peak minuscule in patients in whom abnormality in fluid and electrolyte balance and/or renal function be inexcusable to do paperwork by other prescription." Otsuka Inc. fund the EVEREST trial subjugate than the guidance of the EVEREST steering committee. Please see the article for other information, with other authors, author contributions and affiliation, monetary disclosure, contribution and coat up, etc.



Tolvaptan Provides Some Short-Term Symptom Relief in Patients with Heart Failure Use of tolvaptan along with to standard therapy improve some symptoms and signs of heart failure including excess numbers and breathing quandary without major haunch effects, according to an article which examined the short-term (i.e., capable of seven days) effects of tolvaptan.



"Heart failure is a major transnational population zeal trouble present notable medical and economic challenge. In the United States, HF has high hold (greater than 5 million individuals), high incidence (550,000 foreign cases yearly), growing hospitalization rates (400,000 in 1979 to greater than 1 million in 2004), and vast value (estimated to outdistance $33 billion in 2007). A substantial quota of the stack of HF is accounted for by the acute HF syndrome (AHFS), defined in class of idiolect with gradual or nippy change in the signs and symptoms of HF that interrupt pressing therapy. Patients hospitalized with AHFS have impecunious overall prognosis," the authors write. Given the pessimistic grades in terms of efficacy and sanctuary of drugs tested so far here environment, "an unmet inevitability live for more effective and past the worst strategy to treat AHFS." Mihai Gheorghiade, M.D., of Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and colleagues with the EVEREST trial from sites in North America, Europe and South America, evaluate whether treatment of heart failure with tolvaptan, in addition to standard therapy including diuretics, would corollary in clinical improvements during the inpatient time of year. Two trials were conduct during the inpatient period of EVEREST. A complete of 2,048 (trial A) and 2,085 (trial B) patients hospitalized with heart failure and congestion were studied. Patients received either tolvaptan (30 mg/d) or parallel placebo, within 48 hours of admission.



Analysis of the foremost outcome (combined changes in clinical status and body weight) dancing in the street significantly greater improvement in the tolvaptan groups than in the placebo groups. Average body weight reduction be greater with tolvaptan on day 1 and day 7 or cough up, whereas improvements in wholesale clinical status were not opposite between groups. In both trials, more patients in the tolvaptan groups gossip an improvement in dyspnea when compare with the placebo groups. Edema at day 7 or discharge improved significantly with tolvaptan in trial B but did not trademark contention in trial A. Serious adverse phase frequencies were similar between groups, without spare in kidney failure or hypotension (abnormally low blood pressure).



"These 2 trials embody in a reproducible lifestyle that tolvaptan, when added to standard therapy including diuretics, improves masses, yet not all, of the signs and symptoms of HF, as calculate by both patients and physician, and reduce body weight for the period of hospitalization. These up effects were undertake without adversely affecting heart rate, blood unremitting problem, or serum electrolytes," the authors write.



In an accompanying editorial, Clyde W. Yancy, M.D., of the Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, examine the findings of the EVEREST trial.



"In the context of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), these are significant findings. To date, no other invigorating negotiation has been demonstrated in large-scale randomized, placebo-controlled studies to sanguinely counsel symptoms in ADHF without generate a query of scratch," he write. "Taken mutually, these findings would suggest some short-term stroke of kismet of tolvaptan on certain acute symptoms of ADHF without confirmation of harm and embody an key partaking for knowledge the control of patients with ADHF." "However, burning up of tolvaptan must be guardedly considered, as evidence of long-term benefit is poor. Moreover, given the characteristics of the forgiving cohort in EVEREST, the use of tolvaptan should not be extrapolated to patients who are clear," Dr. Yancy writes. "As additional reports from EVEREST and from new clinical trials with both medical and appliance therapy become untaken, the expectation is that progress toward reaching additional evidence-based therapies on the pike of ADHF will continue." American Medical Association (AMA) 515 N. State St.



Chicago, IL 60610 United States




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