This article provides information and a commentary on trials relevant to the pathophysiology, prevention, and treatment of
heart failure presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology held in Barcelona in 2009. The AAA study does not support the routine use of
aspirin for the prevention of vascular events in patients with asymptomatic
atherosclerosis. RELY suggests that
dabigatran may be more effective than
warfarin for the prevention of
stroke in patients with
atrial fibrillation.
Rolofylline was not superior to placebo in improving outcomes in patients with acute
heart failure enrolled in the PROTECT study, but dyspnoea was improved. Data from ACTIVE-I suggest that
irbesartan does not provide additional therapeutic benefit in patients with
atrial fibrillation who are well controlled on current
therapy. The European
cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) survey provides interesting epidemiological data on current CRT device usage. The German pre-SCD II registry identified a low prevalence of patients with a reduced ejection fraction following
myocardial infarction. Implantation of CRT-D rather than an
implantable cardioverter defibrillator in patients with mild
heart failure and QRS >/=130 ms reduced the risk of hospitalization for
heart failure in MADIT-CRT; mortality was similarly low with each device.