Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors prescription is associated with longer survival among patients hospitalized for congestive heart failure who have preserved systolic function: a long-term follow-up study.
BACKGROUND
The use of inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is strongly indicated by a diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) with deteriorated systolic function (SF), but their effects on patients with CHF but no systolic deterioration have not been clarified. We focused this study on the evaluation of the influence of ACE inhibitors on survival among CHF patients with preserved SF, but also determined the effect of these drugs on the prognosis of our patients with deteriorated SF.


RESULTS
We studied 416 patients, aged 72.7 +/- 10.2 years, who between January 1, 1991, and December 31, 2001, were admitted to the cardiology service of a tertiary hospital for CHF and who fulfilled the requirements that left ventricular SF that had been evaluated echocardiographically during hospitalization was preserved and that data were available on medication at the time of their release from hospital. Two hundred four patients (49.0%) were men, 250 (60.8%) were hypertensive, and, in 171 (41.1%) cases, ischemic cardiopathy was the primary cause of the CHF. ACE inhibitors were prescribed to 210 patients (50.5%) on hospital release. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that, among patients with preserved SF, a longer survival was associated with ACE inhibitors use (mean survival 6.14 years as compared with 4.57 years in the control group, P < .001; adjusted hazard ratio = 0.63, P = .012). Similar results were obtained in CHF patients with deteriorated SF in whom those taking ACE inhibitors had significantly longer life with mean survival 6.42 years compared with 5.03 years in the control group (P < .001; adjusted hazard ratio = 0.62, P = .001).


CONCLUSIONS
ACE inhibitors prescription is associated with a better prognosis of patients with CHF and preserved SF.
Grigorian Shamagian
Lilian
L
Servicio de Cardiologia, Hospital Clinico de Santiago de Compostela, Departmento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Roman
Alfonso Varela
AV
Ramos
Pilar Mazón
PM
Veloso
Pedro Rigueiro
PR
Bandin Dieguez
Manuel Angel
MA
Gonzalez-Juanatey
Jose Ramon
JR
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000740:Anemia / Q000401:mortality; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D013318:Stroke Volume; D015996:Survival Rate
D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors