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Heart failure is a continuous, progressive disease—are your patients’ therapies optimized?

Even if your heart failure patients seem clinically stable, their underlying disease may be progressing1-3
Chart depicting a decline in cardiac function over time with markers for hospitalizations for acute events.

Adapted from Mesquita ET, Jorge AJL, Rabelo LM, et al. Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2017;30(1):81-90. ©The International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences

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  • According to data from the Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure registry, 3 OUT OF 4 HF PATIENTS DIE WITHIN 5 YEARS across HFrEF, HFmrEF, and HFpEF4†

  • Sudden cardiac death accounts for 40% to 45% of all deaths in HFrEF patients5

  • In a study with a median follow-up of 27 months, 1 hospitalization put HFrEF patients at up to 6x greater risk of death vs those who had not been hospitalized for HFrEF6,7§

*In PARAGON-HF, defined as LVEF ≥45% with structural heart disease (LAE or LVH); median LVEF was 57%. LVEF is a variable measure and the normal range can vary.7
In a study including patients with HFrEF (LVEF ≤40%), HFmrEF (LVEF 41%–49%), and HFpEF (LVEF ≥50%) who were ≥65 years old and hospitalized for HF, the GWTG-HF registry was merged with claims from the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from 2005 through 2009, with 5 years of follow-up through the end of December 2014. A total of 39,982 patients from 254 hospitals who were admitted for HF were included: 18,299 (46%) had HFpEF, 3285 (8.2%) had HFmrEF, and 18,398 (46%) had HFrEF. Overall, median survival was 2.1 years. In a risk-adjusted survival analysis, all 3 groups had a similar 5-year mortality (HFrEF 75.3% vs HFpEF 75.7%; HR 0.99 [95% CI: 0.958–1.022]; HFmrEF 75.7% vs HFpEF 75.7%; HR 0.99 [95% CI: 0.947–1.046]).
Defined as "HFbEF" (HF with borderline EF) in the analysis.
§Post hoc analysis of the PARADIGM-HF study, a multinational, randomized, double-blind trial comparing sacubitril/valsartan to enalapril in 8442 symptomatic (NYHA Class II–IV) HFrEF patients (LVEF ≤40%). For the primary end point, composite of CV death or first HF hospitalization, sacubitril/valsartan was superior to enalapril (P<.0001). This post hoc analysis examined the association of first nonfatal events—either HF hospitalization, ED visit, or outpatient intensification of HF therapy—with subsequent mortality during the trial. For the 1107 patients in the study who had a hospitalization for worsening HF as a first event, vs those with no event, the HR for mortality was 6.1 (95% CI: 5.4–6.8).6,7

Discover support and resources to help your patients start on ENTRESTO

Start ENTRESTO, the preferred RASi in HFrEF instead of ACEis/ARBs8

See ENTRESTO clinical data in HFrEF

In the 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Heart Failure Guideline, ENTRESTO is recommended as a first-line treatment and to replace well-tolerated ACEi/ARB in patients with NYHA Class II–III HFrEF (Class 1 recommendation).

Definitions
ACEi, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB; angiotensin II receptor blocker; CI, confidence interval; CV, cardiovascular; ED, emergency department; HFpEF, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; HFrEF, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; HR, hazard ratio; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; NYHA, New York Heart Association; RASi, renin-angiotensin system inhibitor.

References
1. Sabbah HN. Silent disease progression in clinically stable heart failure. Euro J Heart Fail. 2017;19:469-478. doi:10.1002/ejhf.7054
2. Gheorghiade N, De Luca L, Fonarow GC, et al. Pathophysiologic targets in the early phase of acute heart failure syndromes. Am J Cardiol. 2005;96(suppl):11G-17G. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2005.07.016
3. Mesquita ET, Jorge AJL, Rabelo LM, Souza CV. Understanding hospitalization in patients with heart failure. Int J Cardio Sci. 2017;30(1):81-90. doi:10.5935/2359-4802.2016006
4. Shah KS, Xu H, Matsouaka RA, et al. Heart failure with preserved, borderline, and reduced ejection fraction: 5-year outcomes. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017;70(20):2476-2486. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2017.08.074
5Masarone D, Limongelli G, Ammendola E, et al. Risk stratification of sudden cardiac death in patients with heart failure: an update. J Clin Med. 2017;7(11):436. doi:10.3390/jcm71104365
6Okumura N, Jhund PS, Gong J, et al. Importance of clinical worsening of heart failure treated in the outpatient setting: evidence from the prospective comparison of ARNi with ACEi to determine impact on global mortality and morbidity in heart failure trial (PARADIGM-HF). Circ. 2016;133:2254-2262. doi:10.1161/circulationaha.115.020729
7. ENTRESTO [prescribing information]. East Hanover, NJ: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.
8. Maddox TM, Januzzi JL Jr, Allen LA, et al. 2024 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway for treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a report of the American College of Cardiology Solution Set Oversight Committee. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2024;83(15):1444-1488. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2023.12.024