Published Online
on November 21, 2005

A more recent version of this article appeared on November 29, 2005

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Submitted on March 24, 2005
Revised on July 31, 2005
Accepted on August 16, 2005

Mortality and Morbidity Remain High Despite Captopril and/or Valsartan Therapy in Elderly Patients With Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction, Heart Failure, or Both After Acute Myocardial Infarction. Results From the Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (VALIANT)

Harvey D. White DSc, FCSANZ^*, Philip E.G. Aylward MD, FCSANZ, Zhen Huang MS, Anthony J. Dalby MB, W. Douglas Weaver MD, Ståle Barvik MD, José Antonio Marin-Neto MD, PhD, Jan Murin MD, PhD, Rolf O. Nordlander MD, Wiek H. van Gilst PhD, Faiez Zannad MD, PhD, John J.V. McMurray MD, Robert M. Califf MD, Marc A. Pfeffer MD, PhD, for the VALIANT Investigators

From the Green Lane Cardiovascular Service, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand (H.D.W.); Cardiovascular Unit, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, Australia (P.E.G.A.); Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC (Z.H., R.M.C.); Milpark Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa (A.J.D.); Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Henry Ford Heart and Vascular Institute, Detroit, Mich (W.D.W.); Department of Cardiology, Central Hospital, Rogaland, Stavanger, Norway (S.B.); Division of Cardiology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (J.A.M.-N.); First Internal Medicine Department, University Hospital, Bratislava, Slovakia (J.M.); Department of Cardiology, Karolinska Institute, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden (R.O.N.); Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands (W.H.v.G.); Centre d’Investigation Clinique, INSERM-CHU, Hôpital Jeanne d’Arc, Toul, France (F.Z.); Department of Cardiology, Western Infirmary, Glasgow, UK (J.J.V.M.); and Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Mass (M.A.P.).

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: HarveyW{at}adhb.govt.nz.

Background--The elderly constitute an increasing proportion of acute myocardial infarction patients and have disproportionately high mortality and morbidity. Those with heart failure or impaired left ventricular left ventricular function after acute myocardial infarction have high complication and mortality rates. Little is known about outcomes with contemporary therapies in these patients.

Methods and Results--The Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (VALIANT) randomized 14 703 patients with heart failure and/or left ventricular ejection fraction <40% to receive captopril, valsartan, or both. Mortality and a composite end point, including cardiovascular mortality, readmission for heart failure, reinfarction, stroke, and resuscitated cardiac arrest, were compared for the age groups of <65 (n=6988), 65 to 74 (n=4555), 75 to 84 (n=2777), and 85 (n=383) years. With increasing age, 3-year mortality almost quadrupled (13.4%, 26.3%, 36.0%, and 52.1%, respectively), composite end-point events more than doubled (25.2%, 41.0%, 52.3%, and 66.8%), and hospital admissions for heart failure almost tripled (12.0%, 23.1%, 31.3%, and 35.4%). Outcomes did not differ between the 3 study treatments in any age group. Adverse events associated with captopril and valsartan were more common in the elderly and in patients receiving combination therapy. With increasing age, use of aspirin, -blockers, and statins declined, and use of digoxin, calcium-channel blockers, and non-potassium-sparing diuretics increased. On 3-year multivariable analysis, each 10-year age increase was associated with a hazard ratio of 1.49 (95% CI, 1.426 to 1.557; P<0.0001) for mortality and an odds ratio of 1.38 (95% CI, 1.31 to 1.46; P<0.0001) for readmission with heart failure.

Conclusions--Outcomes remained poor in elderly patients with heart failure and/or impaired left ventricular systolic function after acute myocardial infarction, although most received -blockers and all received an ACE inhibitor and/or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Better therapies and increased use of aspirin, -blockers, and statins are needed in this important and increasing patient group.

Key words: aging • angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors • captopril • myocardial infarction • valsartan

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