Milton Packer M.D.

Mogensen, U. M., L. Kober, S. L. Kristensen, P. S. Jhund, J. Gong, M. P. Lefkowitz, A. R. Rizkala, J. L. Rouleau, V. C. Shi, K. Swedberg, M. R. Zile, S. D. Solomon, M. Packer and J. J. V. McMurray (2017). “The effects of sacubitril/valsartan on coronary outcomes in paradigm-hf.” Am Heart J 188: 35-41.

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BACKGROUND: Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I), are beneficial both in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HF-REF) and after myocardial infarction (MI). We examined the effects of the angiotensin-receptor neprilysin inhibitor sacubitril/valsartan, compared with the ACE-I enalapril, on coronary outcomes in PARADIGM-HF. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined the effect of sacubitril/valsartan compared with enalapril on the following outcomes: i) the primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular (CV) death or HF hospitalization, ii) a pre-defined broader composite including, in addition, MI, stroke, and resuscitated sudden death, and iii) a post hoc coronary composite of CV-death, non-fatal MI, angina hospitalization or coronary revascularization. At baseline, of 8399 patients, 3634 (43.3%) had a prior MI and 4796 (57.1%) had a history of any coronary artery disease. Among all patients, compared with enalapril, sacubitril/valsartan reduced the risk of the primary outcome (HR 0.80 [0.73-0.87], P<.001), the broader composite (HR 0.83 [0.76-0.90], P<.001) and the coronary composite (HR 0.83 [0.75-0.92], P<.001). Although each of the components of the coronary composite occurred less frequently in the sacubitril/valsartan group, compared with the enalapril group, only CV death was reduced significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with enalapril, sacubitril/valsartan reduced the risk of both the primary endpoint and a coronary composite outcome in PARADIGM-HF. Additional studies on the effect of sacubitril/valsartan on atherothrombotic outcomes in high-risk patients are merited.

Packer, M., C. O’Connor, J. J. McMurray, J. Wittes, W. T. Abraham, S. D. Anker, K. Dickstein, G. Filippatos, R. Holcomb, H. Krum, A. P. Maggioni, A. Mebazaa, W. F. Peacock, M. C. Petrie, P. Ponikowski, F. Ruschitzka, D. J. van Veldhuisen, L. S. Kowarski, M. Schactman and J. Holzmeister (2017). “Effect of ularitide on cardiovascular mortality in acute heart failure.” N Engl J Med: Apr [Epub ahead of print].

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Background In patients with acute heart failure, early intervention with an intravenous vasodilator has been proposed as a therapeutic goal to reduce cardiac-wall stress and, potentially, myocardial injury, thereby favorably affecting patients’ long-term prognosis. Methods In this double-blind trial, we randomly assigned 2157 patients with acute heart failure to receive a continuous intravenous infusion of either ularitide at a dose of 15 ng per kilogram of body weight per minute or matching placebo for 48 hours, in addition to accepted therapy. Treatment was initiated a median of 6 hours after the initial clinical evaluation. The coprimary outcomes were death from cardiovascular causes during a median follow-up of 15 months and a hierarchical composite end point that evaluated the initial 48-hour clinical course. Results Death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 236 patients in the ularitide group and 225 patients in the placebo group (21.7% vs. 21.0%; hazard ratio, 1.03; 96% confidence interval, 0.85 to 1.25; P=0.75). In the intention-to-treat analysis, there was no significant between-group difference with respect to the hierarchical composite outcome. The ularitide group had greater reductions in systolic blood pressure and in levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide than the placebo group. However, changes in cardiac troponin T levels during the infusion did not differ between the two groups in the 55% of patients with paired data. Conclusions In patients with acute heart failure, ularitide exerted favorable physiological effects (without affecting cardiac troponin levels), but short-term treatment did not affect a clinical composite end point or reduce long-term cardiovascular mortality.

Seferovic, J. P., B. Claggett, S. B. Seidelmann, E. W. Seely, M. Packer, M. R. Zile, J. L. Rouleau, K. Swedberg, M. Lefkowitz, V. C. Shi, A. S. Desai, J. J. V. McMurray and S. D. Solomon (2017). “Effect of sacubitril/valsartan versus enalapril on glycaemic control in patients with heart failure and diabetes: A post-hoc analysis from the paradigm-hf trial.” Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 5(5): 333-340.

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BACKGROUND: Diabetes is an independent risk factor for heart failure progression. Sacubitril/valsartan, a combination angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor, improves morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), compared with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril, and improves peripheral insulin sensitivity in obese hypertensive patients. We aimed to investigate the effect of sacubitril/valsartan versus enalapril on HbA1c and time to first-time initiation of insulin or oral antihyperglycaemic drugs in patients with diabetes and HFrEF. METHODS: In a post-hoc analysis of the PARADIGM-HF trial, we included 3778 patients with known diabetes or an HbA1c >/=6.5% at screening out of 8399 patients with HFrEF who were randomly assigned to treatment with sacubitril/valsartan or enalapril. Of these patients, most (98%) had type 2 diabetes. We assessed changes in HbA1c, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and BMI in a mixed effects longitudinal analysis model. Time to initiation of oral antihyperglycaemic drugs or insulin in subjects previously not treated with these agents were compared between treatment groups. FINDINGS: There were no significant differences in HbA1c concentrations between randomised groups at screening. During the first year of follow-up, HbA1c concentrations decreased by 0.16% (SD 1.40) in the enalapril group and 0.26% (SD 1.25) in the sacubitril/valsartan group (between-group reduction 0.13%, 95% CI 0.05-0.22, p=0.0023). HbA1c concentrations were persistently lower in the sacubitril/valsartan group than in the enalapril group over the 3-year follow-up (between-group reduction 0.14%, 95% CI 0.06-0.23, p=0.0055). New use of insulin was 29% lower in patients receiving sacubitril/valsartan (114 [7%] patients) compared with patients receiving enalapril (153 [10%]; hazard ratio 0.71, 95% CI 0.56-0.90, p=0.0052). Similarly, fewer patients were started on oral antihyperglycaemic therapy (0.77, 0.58-1.02, p=0.073) in the sacubitril/valsartan group. INTERPRETATION: Patients with diabetes and HFrEF enrolled in PARADIGM-HF who received sacubitril/valsartan had a greater long-term reduction in HbA1c than those receiving enalapril. These data suggest that sacubitril/valsartan might enhance glycaemic control in patients with diabetes and HFrEF.

Bohm, M., R. Young, P. S. Jhund, S. D. Solomon, J. Gong, M. P. Lefkowitz, A. R. Rizkala, J. L. Rouleau, V. C. Shi, K. Swedberg, M. R. Zile, M. Packer and J. J. V. McMurray (2017). “Systolic blood pressure, cardiovascular outcomes and efficacy and safety of sacubitril/valsartan (lcz696) in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction: Results from paradigm-hf.” Eur Heart J 38(15): 1132-1143.

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Background: Compared to heart failure patients with higher systolic blood pressure (SBP), those with lower SBP have a worse prognosis. To make matters worse, the latter patients often do not receive treatment with life-saving therapies that might lower blood pressure further. We examined the association between SBP and outcomes in the Prospective Comparison of angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) with an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure trial (PARADIGM-HF), as well as the effect of sacubitril/valsartan, compared with enalapril, according to baseline SBP. Methods: We analysed the effect of treatment on SBP and on the primary composite outcome (cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalization), its components and all-cause death. We examined baseline SBP as a categorical (<110, 110 to < 120, 120 to < 130, 130 to < 140 and >/=140 mmHg) and continuous variable, as well as average in-trial SBP and time-updated SBP. Findings: All-cause and cardiovascular mortality rates were highest in patients with the lowest SBP whereas there was a U-shaped relationship between SBP and the rate of heart failure hospitalization. The benefit of sacubitril/valsartan over enalapril was consistent across all baseline SBP categories for all outcomes. For example, the sacubitril/valsartan versus enalapril hazard ratio for the primary endpoint was 0.88 (95%CI 0.74-1.06) in patients with a baseline SBP <110 mmHg and 0.81 (0.65-1.02) for those with a SBP >/=140 mmHg (P for interaction = 0.55). Symptomatic hypotension, study drug dose-reduction and discontinuation were more frequent in patients with a lower SBP. Interpretation: In PARADIGM-HF, patients with lower SBP at randomization, notably after tolerating full doses of both study drugs during a run-in period, were at higher risk but generally tolerated sacubitril/valsartan and had the same relative benefit over enalapril as patients with higher baseline SBP.

Packer, M., J. J. V. McMurray, H. Krum, W. Kiowski, B. M. Massie, A. Caspi, C. M. Pratt, M. C. Petrie, D. DeMets, I. Kobrin, S. Roux and K. Swedberg (2017). “Long-term effect of endothelin receptor antagonism with bosentan on the morbidity and mortality of patients with severe chronic heart failure: Primary results of the enable trials.” JACC Heart Fail 5(5): 317-326.

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OBJECTIVES: The objective of this clinical trial was to evaluate the long-term effect of endothelin receptor antagonism with bosentan on the morbidity and mortality of patients with severe chronic heart failure. BACKGROUND: Endothelin may play a role in heart failure, but short-term clinical trials with endothelin receptor antagonists have reported disappointing results. Long-term trials are lacking. METHODS: In 2 identical double-blind trials, we randomly assigned 1,613 patients with New York Heart Association functional class IIIb to IV heart failure and an ejection fraction <35% to receive placebo or bosentan (target dose 125 mg twice daily) for a median of 1.5 years. The primary outcome for each trial was clinical status at 9 months (assessed by the hierarchical clinical composite); the primary outcome across the 2 trials was death from any cause or hospitalization for heart failure. RESULTS: Bosentan did not influence clinical status at 9 months in either trial (p = 0.928 and p = 0.263). In addition, 321 patients in the placebo group and 312 patients in the bosentan group died or were hospitalized for heart failure (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.86 to 1.18; p = 0.90). The bosentan group experienced fluid retention within the first 2 to 4 weeks, as evidenced by increased peripheral edema, weight gain, decreases in hemoglobin, and an increased risk of hospitalization for heart failure, despite intensification of background diuretics. During follow-up, 173 patients died in the placebo group and 160 patients died in the bosentan group (HR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.75 to 1.16). About 10% of the bosentan group showed meaningful increases in hepatic transaminases, but none had acute or chronic liver failure. CONCLUSIONS: Bosentan did not improve the clinical course or natural history of patients with severe chronic heart failure and but caused early and important fluid retention.