Do Any Meds Improve Outcomes in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction?

Various drug classes (i.e., β-blockers, angiotensin-converting–enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers, and mineralocorticoid-receptor antagonists) benefit patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF; i.e., EF <40%) with regard to mortality and hospitalization, but, in randomized trials, individual drugs have not conferred similar benefits to patients with HF with preserved EF (HFpEF; i.e., EF ≥40%). In this meta-analysis, researchers evaluated the effects of these drug classes on outcomes in HFpEF patients.

In 6 randomized trials (≈1300 patients), β-blockers, compared with placebo, significantly lowered early mortality (18% vs. 20%). In 15 randomized trials (>13,000 patients), HFpEF patients who received any d…