SP 01-3 ALDOSTERONE ANTAGONISTS IN HEART FAILURE.

Aldosterone's deleterious pathophysiological effects on the cardiovascular system if blocked by mineralcorticord antagonists (MRAs) logically should lead to improvement in heart function and outcomes in heart failure (HF). The first trial to test this hypothesis was tthe RALES trial in 1999 which treated patients with class III-IV HF with spironolactone. It showed significant reduction in mortality and cardiovascular hospitalzation rates. This was confirmed & extended in EMHASIS-HF RCT with classs II-III being treated with ACEIs & BB who received placebo or elperinone (a MRA) with again a statistically significant fall in mortality & hospitalization.The possible cardioprotective effects of MRA post acute myocardial infarct (MI) is less clear. The EPHESUS RCT in 2003 demostrated that elperinone given 3-14 days AMI in patients with early signs of HF reduced mortality & morbidity. However in the ALBTROSS trial using spironolactone 2 days after AMI showed no benfit in patients without HF but in a subgroup with ST elevation there was a 80% reduction in mortality after 6 months. However a recent meta-analysis from 25 RCT with data invovling 19,333 patients with either HF or post MI assigned aldosterone antagonists (AA)or placebo showed a 18% reduction in mortality including a 20% fall in CV mortality and a 19% reduction in SCD.The role of AA in HFPEF is even even more contraversial. The TOPCAT RCT of 3445 patients with symptomatc HFPEF randomised to spironolactone failed to meet the primary composite end point of death, aborted cardiac arrest or hospitalization although there was a reduction in hospitalization for HF (HR 0.83 P = 0.04).The differences between selective or non-selective MRAs, their ADRs & off target effects will also be discussed.