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Aims To investigate the safety and potential efficacy of the novel non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist finerenone in patients with worsening chronic heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction ( HFrEF) and at high risk of hyperkalaemia and worsening renal dysfunction. Methods and results The MinerAlocorticoid Receptor antagonist Tolerability Study-Heart Failure ( ARTS-HF; NCT01807221) is a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, active-comparator-controlled, six-parallel-group, phase 2b dose-finding study. In total, 1060 patients with HFrEF and concomitant type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or chronic kidney disease ( CKD) will be randomized within 7 days of emergency presentation to hospital for worsening chronic HF to receive finerenone (one of five doses in the range 2.5-20.0 mg once daily) or eplerenone (25 mg every second day to 50 mg once daily for 90 days). The primary objective is to investigate the safety and potential efficacy (measured as the percentage of individuals with a decrease in plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide [ NT-proBNP] of more than 30% relative to baseline at day 90 ± 2) of different oral doses of finerenone compared with eplerenone. Other objectives are to assess the effects of finerenone on a composite clinical endpoint (death from any cause, cardiovascular hospitalizations, or emergency presentations for worsening chronic HF), and on changes in health-related quality of life from baseline. Conclusions ARTS-HF is the first phase 2b clinical trial to investigate the effects of finerenone on plasma NT-proBNP in a high-risk population of patients who have worsening chronic HF with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or CKD presenting at the emergency department. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) individually cause significant morbidity and mortality. Their coexistence is associated with even worse outcomes, partly due to suboptimal heart failure therapy, especially underutilisation of beta-blockers. Our aim was to investigate outcomes in HFrEF patients with and without COPD, and the effects of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) on outcomes. Methods and results We studied the effect of MRA therapy in a post-hoc pooled analysis of 4397 HFrEF patients in the RALES and EMPHASIS-HF trials. The primary endpoint was the composite of heart failure hospitalisation or cardiovascular death. A total of 625 (14.2%) of the 4397 patients had COPD. Patients with COPD were older, more often male, and smokers, but less frequently treated with a beta-blocker. In patients with COPD, event rates (per 100 person-years) for the primary endpoint and for all-cause mortality were 25.2 (95% confidence interval 22.1-28.7) and 17.2 (14.9-19.9), respectively, compared with 19.9 (18.8-21.1) and 12.8 (12.0-13.7) in participants without COPD. The risks of all-cause hospitalisation and sudden death were also higher in patients with COPD. The benefit of MRA, compared with placebo, was consistent in patients with or without COPD for all outcomes, e.g. hazard ratio for the primary outcome 0.66 (0.50-0.85) for COPD and 0.65 (0.58-0.73) for no COPD (interaction p = 0.93). MRA-induced hyperkalaemia was less frequent in patients with COPD. Conclusions In RALES and EMPHASIS-HF, one-in-seven patients with HFrEF had coexisting COPD. HFrEF patients with COPD had worse outcomes than those without. The benefits of MRAs were consistent, regardless of COPD status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Older people are predisposed to hyperkalemia because of impaired renal function, comorbid conditions, and polypharmacy. Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASi), which are recommended to treat chronic kidney disease and heart failure augment the risk. Patiromer, a nonabsorbed potassium binder, was shown in the phase 3 OPAL-HK study to decrease serum potassium in patients with chronic kidney disease taking RAASi. We studied the efficacy and safety of patiromer in a prespecified subgroup of patients aged ≥65 years from OPAL-HK.Methods: Chronic kidney disease patients with mild or moderate-to-severe hyperkalemia received patiromer, initially 8.4 g/d or 16.8 g/d, respectively, for 4 weeks (treatment phase, part A). Eligible patients entered an 8-week randomized withdrawal phase (part B) and continued patiromer or switched to placebo.Results: Mean ± standard error change in serum potassium from baseline to week 4 of part A (primary endpoint) in patients aged ≥65 years was -1.01 ± 0.05 mEq/L (P < .001); 97% achieved serum potassium 3.8-<5.1 mEq/L. The serum potassium increase during the first 4 weeks of part B was greater in patients taking placebo than in those taking patiromer (P < .001). Fewer patients taking patiromer (30%) than placebo (92%) developed recurrent hyperkalemia (serum potassium ≥5.1 mEq/L). Mild-to-moderate constipation occurred in 15% (part A) and 7% (part B) of patients aged ≥65 years. Serum potassium <3.5 mEq/L and serum magnesium <1.4 mg/dL were infrequent (4% each in patients aged ≥65 years in part A).Conclusions: Patiromer reduced recurrent hyperkalemia and was well tolerated in older chronic kidney disease patients taking RAASi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]