MedPage Today (8/17,
Kaiser, 185K) reported that research published online in Circulation: Heart
Failure suggests that “African Americans with heart failure and reduced left
ventricular output may not derive the same benefit from spironolactone as other
ethnic groups.” Investigators found that while “patients in the trial taking
spironolactone (Aldactone) exhibited an overall significant increase in
potassium levels (mean increase 0.28 mmol/L, P<0 .001="" 0.29="" black="" ethnic="" for="" groups="" in="" increase="" interaction="" mmol="" nbsp="" other="" p="0.03" patients="" potassium="" significantly="" smaller="" span="" than="" the="" versus="" was="">
MedPage Today added
that “American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines for
mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), the class of drugs to which
spironolactone belongs, recommend they be prescribed, along with standard
medical therapies, in patients with heart failure class III or IV with reduced
left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and in patients after acute heart
attack with concomitant symptoms of heart failure and reduced LVEF,” but
physicians often do not prescribe spironolactone due to the side effects
associated with its use
POSTED BY: Steven
Almany M.D.
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