Browsing by Author "Becher, Peter Moritz (25025631600)"

Aims: This report presents the baseline characteristics of patients enrolled in the DIGIT-HF trial and compares them with participants from recent trials with improved outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF) and a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Methods and results: DIGIT-HF, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial enrolling patients with symptomatic HFrEF (New York Heart Association [NYHA] functional class II and left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] ≤30%, or NYHA class III–IV and LVEF ≤40%), compares the efficacy and safety of digitoxin versus placebo in addition to standard treatment. Most baseline characteristics of the intention-to-treat population (1212 patients, mean age 66 ± 11 years, 20% women, mean LVEF 29 ± 7%) were similar to those in recent HFrEF trials. The distribution of NYHA class II, III, and IV was 30%, 66% and 4%, respectively, and indicates that the patients were sicker than in comparator HFrEF trials. Less patients had atrial fibrillation (27%) than those in recent HFrEF trials, but prescription rates of background therapy with beta-blockers (96%), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers/angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitors (95%), mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (76%), and diuretics (87%) were high and similar. Overall, 40% of patients were on angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitors, 19% on sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, and 9% on ivabradine. Rates of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD, 64%) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT, 25%) devices were much higher than in recent HFrEF trials. Conclusions: Patients included in DIGIT-HF display a more severe HF symptom burden and higher rates of ICD/CRT implants compared to participants in recent HFrEF trials, while pharmacotherapy was largely similar. Clinical Trial Registration: EudraCT (2013–005326-38). © 2025 The Author(s). European Journal of Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.

Heart Failure (HF) is a multi-faceted and life-threatening syndrome characterized by significant morbidity and mortality, poor functional capacity and quality of life, and high costs. HF affects more than 64 million people worldwide. Therefore, attempts to decrease its social and economic burden have become a major global public health priority. While the incidence of HF has stabilized and seems to be declining in industrialized countries, the prevalence is increasing due to the ageing of the population, improved treatment of and survival with ischaemic heart disease, and the availability of effective evidence-based therapies prolonging life in patients with HF. There are geographical variations in HF epidemiology. There is substantial lack of data from developing countries, where HF exhibits different features compared with that observed in the Western world. In this review, we provide a contemporary overview on the global burden of HF, providing updated estimates on prevalence, incidence, outcomes, and costs worldwide. © 2022 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.