Effect of eplerenone in percutaneous coronary intervention-treated post-myocardial infarction patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction: a subanalysis of the EPHESUS trial

Aims EPHESUS was a multicentre, double-blind clinical trial in which 6632 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by LV systolic dysfunction (LVSD) were randomized to receive eplerenone (n = 3319) or placebo (n = 3313). A total of 1580 EPHESUS patients were treated with PCI, which is now the standard treatment for AMI. This EPHESUS substudy examined the effects of eplerenone upon cardiovascular outcomes in PCI-treated patients. Methods and results EPHESUS patients were divided into PCI-treated and non-PCI-treated cohorts, and the effect of eplerenone upon mortality and other major adverse cardiovascular outcomes was assessed in each cohort. The PCI-treated patients (n = 1580) were younger, and had better renal function and fewer co-morbidities than non-PCI-treated patients (n = 5052). Cardiovascular mortality was significantly lower in PCI-treated patients as compared with non-PCI-treated patients (7% vs. 16%, P < 0.0001). However, the incidence of non-fatal events was similar in PCI-treated and non-PCI-treated cohorts. There was no statistical difference between the PCI-treated and non-PCI-treated cohorts in the primary or secondary outcomes of the trial. Eplerenone administration, compared with placebo, in the PCI-treated cohort did not affect PCI-related clinical outcomes, including recurrence of angina, the occurrence of acute coronary syndromes, or the need for further revascularization. Conclusions The beneficial effects of eplerenone in the EPHESUS trial exist for both PCI- and non-PCI-treated AMI patients with LVSD. Eplerenone has minimal, if any, effect upon reducing PCI-related adverse events in the PCI-treated cohort.