Loading...
Practice guidelines recommend use of aldosterone antagonists (e.g., spironolactone) in patients with systolic heart failure who have moderate-to-severe symptoms despite therapy with ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers. However, some evidence indicates that aldosterone antagonists are underused in eligible patients and, alarmingly, are sometimes used in patients at high risk for hyperkalemia (JW Cardiol Sep 9 2005). In the present study, investigators assessed trends in the prescription of aldosterone antagonists from 2005 through 2007 at 241 hospitals participating in the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines Heart Failure registry.
Of 43,625 patients hospitalized with heart failure, 12,565 had LV systolic dysfunction and did not h…