The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7178 p839-846
15 December 2001

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Full data from heart failure trial published

Results of the valsartan heart failure trial (Val-HeFT) evaluating the long-term effects of adding valsartan to standard heart failure therapy have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine (2001; 345:1667). Results of the trial were announced last year (see PJ, 25 November 2000, p785).

Valsartan reduces the combined end point of mortality and morbidity in patients with heart failure, and improves clinical signs and symptoms, when added to prescribed therapy. However, in a subgroup already being treated with an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and a beta-blocker, valsartan had an adverse effect on mortality and morbidity, raising concerns about the safety of the combination.

"Clarification of whether this finding represents a true interaction or is attributed to chance must await the outcome of ongoing trials evaluating the combination of an angiotensin receptor blocker with an ACE inhibitor and a beta-blocker," the researchers say.

Novartis is seeking a licence for the use of valsartan (Diovan) in the treatment of heart failure in the United Kingdom.

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