The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7266 p312
13 September 2003

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European Society of Cardiology congress (www.escardio.org)

Valsartan reduces atrial fibrillation risk for heart failure patients

Valsartan reduces the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) by 35 per cent in heart failure patients, according to new data from the Val-HeFT trial. The data were presented at last week’s European Society of Cardiology conference in Vienna.

Va-HeFT — the valsartan heart failure trial — studied 5,010 patients randomly assigned to valsartan at a target dose of 160mg twice daily, or placebo. Both interventions were in addition to other heart failure treatments. The new analysis showed that AF developed in 5.27 per cent of those who took the angiotensin receptor blocker compared with 7.86 per cent in the placebo arm — representing a 35 per cent risk reduction (P=0.0002).

The data also confirm AF as an independent risk factor for death in patients with heart failure. After 23 months, all cause mortality was 30.2 per cent in patients who developed AF during the trial compared with 18.8 per cent in those who did not.

The authors say a prospective trial of the use of angiotensin receptor blockers to prevent AF in heart failure is now needed.

Valsartan is licensed for the treatment of hypertension in the United Kingdom.