BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials have shown a reduced risk of heart failure (HF) hospitalisation among users of ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonists (angiotensin receptor blockers [ARBs]), but these results have limited generalisability. Some observational studies have also demonstrated reductions in hospitalisation but are potentially affected by non-random treatment selection. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of ACEI/ARB therapy on all-cause and HF-related hospitalisations among older adults using a propensity model to adjust for treatment-selection bias and focusing on consistent medication use as the exposure of interest. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of continuously enrolled, older (age > or =60 years) Kansas Medicaid beneficiaries with HF, using data from May 1999 to April 2000. A propensity analysis was used to identify a comparison group of untreated persons that were otherwise clinically similar to treated persons. The effect of regular ACEI/ARB use on hospitalisations was estimated using multivariable logistic regression models. The HF sample included 887 subjects, of whom 235 (27%) received regular ACEI/ARB therapy. To be considered a regular user of ACEI/ARB therapy ('treated'), we required evidence that a subject obtained at least 80% of their intended daily supply. The main outcome measure was the effect of regular ACEI/ARB use on all-cause and HF-related hospitalisations. RESULTS: Treated subjects were matched against an equal number of untreated persons, for a final sample of 470 persons. The mean age of both treated and untreated subjects was 81 years. Regular ACEI/ARB use did not alter the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of all-cause hospitalisation (AOR = 1.04, 95% CI 0.71, 1.52), which occurred in 40% of the sample, or the odds of an HF-related hospitalisation (AOR = 1.01, 95% CI 0.65, 1.57), which occurred in 22.6% of both groups. CONCLUSION: Although randomised controlled trials have shown that ACEI/ARB treatment is associated with reduced hospitalisations in patients with HF, this benefit was not observed in our study. Further study of ACEI/ARB outcomes is needed in a larger sample of older subjects with HF.
BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials have shown a reduced risk of heart failure (HF) hospitalisation among users of ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonists (angiotensin receptor blockers [ARBs]), but these results have limited generalisability. Some observational studies have also demonstrated reductions in hospitalisation but are potentially affected by non-random treatment selection. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of ACEI/ARB therapy on all-cause and HF-related hospitalisations among older adults using a propensity model to adjust for treatment-selection bias and focusing on consistent medication use as the exposure of interest. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of continuously enrolled, older (age > or =60 years) Kansas Medicaid beneficiaries with HF, using data from May 1999 to April 2000. A propensity analysis was used to identify a comparison group of untreated persons that were otherwise clinically similar to treated persons. The effect of regular ACEI/ARB use on hospitalisations was estimated using multivariable logistic regression models. The HF sample included 887 subjects, of whom 235 (27%) received regular ACEI/ARB therapy. To be considered a regular user of ACEI/ARB therapy ('treated'), we required evidence that a subject obtained at least 80% of their intended daily supply. The main outcome measure was the effect of regular ACEI/ARB use on all-cause and HF-related hospitalisations. RESULTS: Treated subjects were matched against an equal number of untreated persons, for a final sample of 470 persons. The mean age of both treated and untreated subjects was 81 years. Regular ACEI/ARB use did not alter the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of all-cause hospitalisation (AOR = 1.04, 95% CI 0.71, 1.52), which occurred in 40% of the sample, or the odds of an HF-related hospitalisation (AOR = 1.01, 95% CI 0.65, 1.57), which occurred in 22.6% of both groups. CONCLUSION: Although randomised controlled trials have shown that ACEI/ARB treatment is associated with reduced hospitalisations in patients with HF, this benefit was not observed in our study. Further study of ACEI/ARB outcomes is needed in a larger sample of older subjects with HF.
Authors: S A Hunt; D W Baker; M H Chin; M P Cinquegrani; A M Feldman; G S Francis; T G Ganiats; S Goldstein; G Gregoratos; M L Jessup; R J Noble; M Packer; M A Silver; L W Stevenson; R J Gibbons; E M Antman; J S Alpert; D P Faxon; V Fuster; A K Jacobs; L F Hiratzka; R O Russell; S C Smith Journal: J Am Coll Cardiol Date: 2001-12 Impact factor: 24.094
Authors: Victor C Lee; David C Rhew; Michelle Dylan; Enkhe Badamgarav; Glenn D Braunstein; Scott R Weingarten Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2004-11-02 Impact factor: 25.391
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Authors: Saul Blecker; Yiyi Zhang; Daniel E Ford; Eliseo Guallar; Susan Dosreis; Donald M Steinwachs; Lisa B Dixon; Gail L Daumit Journal: Gen Hosp Psychiatry Date: 2010-03-16 Impact factor: 3.238
Authors: Abhishek S Chitnis; Rajender R Aparasu; Hua Chen; Mark E Kunik; Paul E Schulz; Michael L Johnson Journal: Drugs Aging Date: 2015-09 Impact factor: 3.923