scholarly journals Optimizing Guideline-directed Medical Therapies for Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction During Hospitalization

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neal M Dixit ◽  
Shivani Shah ◽  
Boback Ziaeian ◽  
Gregg C Fonarow ◽  
Jeffrey J Hsu

Heart failure remains a huge societal concern despite medical advancement, with an annual direct cost of over $30 billion. While guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) is proven to reduce morbidity and mortality, many eligible patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) are not receiving one or more of the recommended medications, often due to suboptimal initiation and titration in the outpatient setting. Hospitalization serves as a key point to initiate and titrate GDMT. Four evidence-based therapies have clinical benefit within 30 days of initiation and form a crucial foundation for HFrEF therapy: renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors with or without a neprilysin inhibitor, β-blockers, mineralocorticoid-receptor-antagonists, and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors. The authors present a practical guide for the implementation of these four pillars of GDMT during a hospitalization for acute heart failure.

2021 ◽  
pp. 106002802098511
Author(s):  
Filipe Ferrari ◽  
Vítor M. Martins ◽  
Rafael S. Scheffel ◽  
Anderson D. da Silveira ◽  
Marcelo Trotte Motta ◽  
...  

Objective: To provide clinical guidance and an overview of the available data on the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), regardless of the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Data Sources: We searched the MEDLINE database via PubMed (from January 2015 to November 2020) for the following key terms: SGLT2 inhibitors, sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors, SGLT2i, heart failure, and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Study Selection and Data Extraction: To be included in the review, the articles needed to assess the effects of SGLT2 inhibitors in the heart failure (HF) scenario. Data Synthesis: There is consistent evidence that SGLT2 inhibitors reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular (CV) events and hospitalization in patients with HFrEF, even in the absence of T2DM. On May 5, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved dapagliflozin for adults with HFrEF, regardless of the presence of T2DM, even in those patients on standard therapy, including an angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitor. Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: The SGLT2 inhibitors are well tolerated, and their once-daily dosing without the need for adjustments is convenient. These drugs can be considered a major breakthrough in pharmacotherapy for HF, providing physicians with a new treatment approach to reduce major clinical outcomes. Conclusions: SGLT2 inhibitor therapy reduces CV death and hospitalizations in HFrEF patients regardless of T2DM. The decision to prescribe this class of drugs should not be determined by glycemic status.


Author(s):  
Matthew S Durstenfeld ◽  
Stuart D Katz ◽  
Hannah Park ◽  
Saul Blecker

Background: Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) are an important component of guideline-directed therapy for patients with heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) but are underutilized in clinical practice. Hospitalization is a quality-improvement opportunity to increase appropriate use of MRAs, particularly as this therapy is associated with reduced readmission following both hospitalizations with a principal and secondary diagnosis of heart failure. We studied MRA prescription for heart failure patients before and after hospitalization. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of adults hospitalized within an academic tertiary-care hospital system in 2013-2015 with a principal or secondary discharge diagnosis of heart failure. We included patients with ejection fraction ≤35%, systolic blood pressure ≥100 mm Hg, estimated glomerular filtration rate >30 ml/min/1.73 m 2 , and potassium <5.0 mEq/L. We recorded MRA prescription before and after hospitalization. We used McNemar’s test to compare MRA prescription before and after hospitalization, with pre-specified principal and secondary diagnosis subgroups. We used the chi-square test to compare prescriptions between groups. Results: Among 1176 hospitalizations of patients who met the inclusion criteria, the mean age was 72.7±13.4 years and 366 (31%) were female. Of these patients, 303 (25.8%) were prescribed MRAs prior to hospitalization and 331 (28.2%) were prescribed them at discharge, a small but statistically significant increase (p=0.02). Among patients previously prescribed MRAs, 241 (79.5%) continued them at discharge. Among 873 patients not previously prescribed MRAs, 90 (10.3%) had MRAs initiated at discharge. Among 347 patients with a principal diagnosis of heart failure, 95 had MRAs continued, 27 had MRAs discontinued, and 39 had MRAs initiated, a non-significant increase of 12 patients (+3.6%, p=0.14). Among 829 patients with a secondary diagnosis, 146 had MRAs continued, 35 had MRAs discontinued, and 51 had MRAs initiated, a non-significant increase of 16 patients (+1.9%, p=0.08). More patients with a principal diagnosis received MRAs at discharge: 134/347 (38.6%) compared to 197/829 (23.7%) patients discharged with a secondary diagnosis of HFrEF, p<0.0001; similarly, patients with a principal diagnosis of HFrEF had higher rates of MRA initiation at discharge: 39/225 (17.3%) versus 51/648 (7.9%), p=0.0004. Conclusions: Over 70% of hospitalized HFrEF patients did not receive MRAs before or after hospitalization. Although more patients with a principal diagnosis than secondary diagnosis of heart failure received MRAs and had them initiated, over 80% of eligible patients not on MRAs were not initiated on them at discharge. Hospitalization remains an opportunity to identify patients indicated for MRAs and initiate guideline-directed heart failure pharmacotherapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 3870
Author(s):  
Zh. D. Kobalava ◽  
V. V. Medovchshikov ◽  
N. B. Yeshniyazov

Patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), despite optimal evidence-based treatment, have a high residual risk of adverse outcomes. The favorable results of studies on cardiovascular safety and the effectiveness of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), including outcomes associated with heart failure, were the reason for studying the effectiveness in patients with HFrEF regardless of the T2D status. For the first time in the DAPA-HF study, the SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin in patients with HFrEF showed a positive effect on hard endpoints. Data of the secondary analysis confirmed the effectiveness of dapagliflozin regardless of the T2D status, therapy, age, and quality of life. The results of DAPA-HF have become a serious statement for changing the standards of the guideline-recommended therapy of HFrEF.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyue Mee Kim ◽  
In-Chang Hwang ◽  
Wonsuk Choi ◽  
Yeonyee E. Yoon ◽  
Goo-Yeong Cho

Abstract Background Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) and sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) have shown robust benefits in improving cardiac function and disease prognosis in diabetic patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, their combined effect has not been revealed. Methods We retrospectively identified diabetic patients with HFrEF who were prescribed an ARNI and/or SGLT2i. Diabetic patients with HFrEF treated with standard HF therapy but not ARNI or SGLT2i were included as controls. The patients were divided into groups treated with both ARNI and SGLT2i (group 1), ARNI but not SGLT2i (group 2), SGLT2i but not ARNI (group 3), and neither ARNI nor SGLT2i (group 4). After propensity score-matching, the occurrence of hospitalization for heart failure (HHF), cardiovascular mortality, and changes in echocardiographic parameters were analyzed. Results Of the 206 matched patients included in the study, 90 (43.7%) had to undergo HHF and 43 (20.9%) died of cardiovascular causes during a median 25 months of follow-up. Patients in group 1 exhibited a lower risk of HHF and cardiovascular mortality compared to those in the other groups. Improvements in the left ventricular ejection fraction and mitral E/e’ were more pronounced in group 1 than in groups 2, 3 and 4. These echocardiographic improvements were more prominent after the initiation of ARNI, compare to the initiation of SGLT2i. Conclusion In diabetic patients with HFrEF, combination of ARNI and SGT2i showed significant improvement in cardiac function and prognosis. ARNI-SGLT2i combination therapy may improve the clinical course of HFrEF in diabetic patients.


2016 ◽  
Vol 02 (01) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Silva Cardoso ◽  

This editorial summarises important findings from the PARADIGM-HF study. PARADIGM-HF indicated that the angiotensin receptorneprilysin inhibitor, LCZ696, is superior to enalapril in reducing the risks of cardiovascular death and of hospitalisation for heart failure in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.


Cardiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Sérgio Maltês ◽  
Gonçalo J.L. Cunha ◽  
Bruno M.L. Rocha ◽  
João Presume ◽  
Renato Guerreiro ◽  
...  

<b><i>Background:</i></b> In patients with heart failure (HF) and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus, the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) dapagliflozin was recently shown to reduce the risk of worsening HF or death from cardiovascular causes in the dapagliflozin in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (DAPA-HF) trial. Our goal was to investigate how many patients in a real-world setting would be eligible for dapagliflozin according to the DAPA-HF enrolment criteria. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This is a single-center retrospective study enrolling consecutive, unselected patients followed up in an HF clinic from 2013 to 2019. Key DAPA-HF inclusion criteria (i.e., left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] ≤40% and NT-proBNP ≥600 pg/mL [or ≥900 pg/mL if atrial fibrillation]) and exclusion criteria (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] &#x3c;30 mL/kg/1.73 m<sup>2</sup> and systolic blood pressure [SBP] &#x3c;95 mm Hg) were considered. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Overall, 479 patients (age 76 ± 13 years; 50.5% male; 78.9% hypertensive; 45.1% with an eGFR &#x3c;60 mL/min/1.73 m<sup>2</sup>; 36.5% with TD2M; and 33.5% with ischaemic HF) were assessed. The median SBP was 128.5 (112.0–146.0) mm Hg, mean eGFR was 50.8 ± 23.7 mL/min/1.73 m<sup>2</sup>, and median NT-proBNP was 2,183 (IQR 1,010–5,310) pg/mL. Overall, 155 (32.4%) patients had LVEF ≤40%. According to the DAPA-HF trial key criteria, 90 patients (18.8%) would be eligible for dapagliflozin. The remainder would be excluded due to LVEF &#x3e;40% (67.6%), eGFR &#x3c;30 mL/min/1.73 m<sup>2</sup> (19.4%), NT-proBNP below the cutoff (16.7%), and/or SBP &#x3c;95 mm Hg (6.5%). If we center the analysis to those with LVEF ≤40%, 58.1% would be eligible for dapagliflozin. The remainder would be excluded due to an eGFR &#x3c;30 mL/min/1.73 m<sup>2</sup> (20%), NT-proBNP below the cutoff (16.1%), and/or SBP &#x3c;95 mm Hg (8.4%). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Roughly half of our real-world HFrEF cohort would be eligible for dapagliflozin according to the key criteria of the DAPA-HF trial. The main reason for non-eligibility was an eGFR &#x3c;30 mL/min/1.73 m<sup>2</sup>. However, two-thirds of patients had LVEF &#x3e;40%. These findings show that dapagliflozin is a promising complementary new drug in the therapeutic armamentarium of most patients with HFrEF, while highlighting the urgent need for disease-modifying drugs in mid-range and preserved LVEF and the need to assess the efficacy and safety of SLGT2i in advanced kidney disease patients. The results of ongoing SGLT2i trials in these LVEF subgroups are eagerly awaited.


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