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Aims: Improving the health status (symptoms, function, and quality of life) of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is a primary treatment goal. Angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI) improve short‐term health status in clinical practice, but the sustainability of these improvements is unknown. Methods and results: In CHAMP‐HF, a multicentre observational study of outpatients with HFrEF, patients initiated on ARNI were propensity score matched 1:2 to patients not using ARNI with Cox regression modelling time to ARNI initiation, adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical variables, medical history, medications, and baseline Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) scores. Repeated measures models for the overall KCCQ score and each domain compared the health status trajectories of patients initiated on ARNI vs. not. Among 3930 participants, 746 (19.0%) began ARNI, of whom 576 were matched to 1152 non‐ARNI patients. Prior to matching, participants initiated on ARNI were younger, non‐Hispanic, had lower EFs, more commonly had a history of ventricular arrhythmia, were less likely to be taking an ACEI/ARB, and more likely to be treated with beta‐blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. There were no differences after matching. In the matched cohort, participants initiated on ARNI experienced improved health status by 3 months that persisted through 12 months [KCCQ Overall Summary Score (OSS) = 73.4 vs. 70.8; P < 0.001], with the largest benefit observed in the KCCQ Quality of Life domain (68.7 vs. 64.7; P < 0.001). Similar health status benefits were noted through 18 months (KCCQ‐OSS = 73.9 vs. 71.3; P < 0.001). A responder analysis showed that 12 patients would need to be initiated on ARNI for one to experience at least a large improvement (≥10 points) in health status benefit at 12 months. Conclusions: In outpatient practice, ARNI therapy was associated with improved health status by 3 months and continued to 18 months after initiating therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beta-Blockers and Microvolt T-Wave Alternans. Introduction: Results of microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) studies vary and may be influenced by whether beta-blocker therapy was withheld prior to MTWA assessment. We conducted a meta-analysis of the predictive value of MTWA screening for ventricular arrhythmic events in primary prevention patients with left ventricular dysfunction and examined whether results differed depending upon whether beta-blocker use was withheld prior to MTWA testing. Methods and Results: Prospective studies that evaluated whether MTWA predicted ventricular arrhythmic events published between January 1980 and September 2008 were identified. Summary estimates for the predictive value of MTWA were derived with random-effects models. Nine studies involving 3,939 patients were identified. Overall, an abnormal MTWA (positive and indeterminate) test was associated with an almost 2-fold increased risk for arrhythmic events (pooled RR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.29–2.96; P = 0.002). However, significant heterogeneity across studies was observed (P = 0.024). In the 4 studies in which beta-blocker therapy was not withheld prior to MTWA assessment, an abnormal MTWA test was associated with a 5-fold increased risk for arrhythmic events (pooled RR = 5.39, 95% CI: 2.68–10.84; P < 0.001) and was robust to sensitivity analyses. In contrast, the association was much weaker in those studies where the use of beta-blocker therapy was withheld prior to MTWA testing (pooled RR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.06–1.84; P = 0.02). Conclusions: In primary prevention patients with left ventricular dysfunction, the predictive power of MTWA varied widely, based on whether beta-blocker therapy was withheld prior to its assessment. This observation may explain the inconsistent results of MTWA studies in this population. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 1009-1014, September 2010) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Hospitalized heart failure (HF) patients are at high risk for death and readmission. We examined the incremental value of data obtained 1 week after HF hospital discharge in predicting mortality and readmission. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Differences in the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) have been reported, but the extent to which they have widened after the publication of major clinical trials supporting their use is unclear. Using data on Medicare beneficiaries, the authors determined annual age-standardized population-based utilization rates of ICDs for white men, black men, white women, and black women from 1997 to 2003. During the study period, overall use of ICDs increased most for white men (81.7–254.7 procedures per 100,000 from 1997 to 2003) and black men (38.0–151.7 procedures per 100,000), with white women (28.9–98.4 procedures per 100,000) and black women (18.2–77.3 procedures per 100,000) showing smaller increases in comparison. After adjustment with multivariable regression models, differences in utilization rates between whites and men widened compared with blacks and women between 1997 and 2003, a period when indications for ICD therapy have expanded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]