title: PARADIGM - HF: The Rise of the Arnis.
abstract: Heart failure remains a widespread commonly encountered clinical condition. It is responsible for increased healthcare expenditure, driven by frequent and often prolonged hospital admissions associated with an increased mortality. A clinically useful classification of the syndrome is, patients with left ventricular systolic impairment (Heart Failure and reduced ejection fraction, HFREF) and patients with preserved left ventricular systolic function (HFPEF). The pharmacological treatment for patients with HFREF has evolved over the last twenty five years, focusing on modulation of the neurohormonal activation which represents a hallmark of this condition. This has led to the development of a stepwise treatment algorithm predominately based on inhibition of the renin angiotensin aldosterone pathway and counteracting sympathetic over-activation. In particular since the early trials in chronic heart failure (CHF) demonstrated a significant mortality benefit with ACE-inhibitors, subsequent studies have been conducted in conjunction with these drugs. The rationale being that it would be unethical to trial any new agent without the concomitant use of ACE-inhibitors. The recent publication of the PARADIGM -HF study has challenged this convention by trialling a novel pharmacological agent against an ACE-inhibitor in a landmark trial. The review sets out the current pharmacological treatment for patients with heart failure and discusses the recent findings with this novel class of medication.
authors.affiliation: Specialist Registrar in Cardiology, Dept of Cardiology, Royal Brompton Hospital, Sydney Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 6NP, UK. k.guha@rbht.nhs.uk.
authors.forename: Kaushik
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guha
authors.forename: Sneha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Varkey
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors