Drugs for chronic heart failure

Treatment Guidelines from The Medical Letter® Published by The Medical Letter, Inc • 1000 Main Street, New Rochelle, NY 10801 • A Nonprofit Publication IN THIS ISSUE (starts on next page) Drugs for Chronic Heart Failure p 69 Important Copyright Message The Medical Letter® publications are protected by US and international copyright laws Forwarding, copying or any distribution of this material is prohibited Sharing a password with a non-subscriber or otherwise making the contents of this site available to third parties is strictly prohibited By accessing and reading the attached content I agree to comply with US and international copyright laws and these terms and conditions of The Medical Letter, Inc For further information click: Subscriptions, Site Licenses, Reprints or call customer service at: 800-211-2769 FORWARDING OR COPYING IS A VIOLATION OF US AND INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAWS The Medical Letter publications are protected by US and international copyright laws Forwarding, copying or any other distribution of this material is strictly prohibited For further information call: 800-211-2769 Treatment Guidelines from The Medical Letter® Published by The Medical Letter, Inc • 145 Huguenot Street, New Rochelle, NY 10801 • A Nonprofit Publication Volume 10 (Issue 121) September 2012 (supercedes vol [Issue 83] July 2009) www.medicalletter.org Take CME Exams Tables Some Drugs for Chronic Heart Failure Page 71 Drugs for Chronic Heart Failure RECOMMENDATIONS — Unless there is a specific contraindication, all patients with heart failure and systolic dysfunction (LVEF 5.5 mEq/L (>5.0 mEq/L in diabetics) They should not be used in patients with a history of angioedema or with bilateral renal artery stenosis ACE inhibitors cause increased fetal mortality and should not be used during pregnancy (first trimester, category C [risk cannot be ruled out]; second and third trimesters, category D [positive evidence of risk]) Adverse Effects – The most common adverse effects of ACE inhibitors are thought to be related to inhibiting breakdown of endogenous kinins (cough and, less commonly, angioedema), suppression of angiotensin II (hyperkalemia, hypotension and renal insufficiency), and reduction of aldosterone production (hyperkalemia) Cough and angioedema can usually be relieved by replacing the ACE inhibitor with an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB); ARBs not increase concentrations of kinins to the same degree Formulary Considerations – A few ACE inhibitors are not approved for treatment of heart failure, but no data are available showing that any ACE inhibitor is more effective than any other for treatment of heart failure ANGIOTENSIN RECEPTOR BLOCKERS (ARBs) — Long-term therapy with an ARB reduces the risk of death, MI and other cardiovascular events in patients with systolic heart failure; results appear to be similar to those obtained with ACE inhibitors ARBs should be used in patients with heart failure and LVEF