title: Clinical heart failure trials and the design rationale of Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD).
abstract: Heart failure has become a major worldwide public health problem. Several million patients suffer with this malady and large epidemiologic studies have documented mortality that can be in excess of 50% at 5 years. Furthermore, morbidity is great with this disease and hospitalizations are increasing yearly. Attention must be placed on pharmacotherapeutic strategies that can attenuate the morbidity and high mortality seen in the heart failure milieu. Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD) is a large, multicenter, multinational, clinical research program with two, double-blind, randomized clinical trials designed to evaluate the effects of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, enalapril, on heart failure morbidity and mortality. The program also includes a registry and several substudies that are designed to better clarify heart failure pathophysiology. With over 13,000 subjects participating in this program, SOLVD is the largest clinical heart failure study ever mounted. It is important to consider the design rationale of this program.
authors.affiliation: Multi-Organ Transplant Center, Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004656:Enalapril / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D012042:Registries; D012107:Research Design; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004656:Enalapril