Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Heart Disease / 12.03.2018
Risk Factors For Sudden Death in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Muthiah Vaduganathan, MD MPH
Heart and Vascular Center
Brigham and Women's Hospital
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The prevalence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is rising globally, yet no medical therapies are currently available to alter its natural history and its progression remains incompletely understood.
Sudden death may represent a target for therapy in this disease entity. In 1,767 patients with HFpEF enrolled in the Americas region of the TOPCAT trial, we found that sudden death accounts for ~20% of all deaths. Male sex and insulin-treated diabetes mellitus identify patients at higher risk for sudden death. Sudden death was numerically lower but not statistically reduced in those randomized to spironolactone.
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