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Some studies have suggested that black patients derive less benefit than white patients from specific therapies. Two recent studies addressed this issue: One focused on adrenergic blockade, the other on ACE inhibition.
The first study was a manufacturer-supported, retrospective analysis of data from 217 black and 877 non-black patients with heart failure who had been randomized to receive carvedilol or placebo in the prospective U.S. Carvedilol Heart Failure Trials Program. Follow-up was as long as 15 months. Both black and non-black patients in the carvedilol group were less likely to suffer clinical deterioration, be hospitalized, or die than were patients in the placebo group. Adverse-event rates were similar in the 2 carvedilol subgroups…