EFFECT OF VESNARINONE ON CARDIAC-FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE CONGESTIVE-HEART-FAILURE

Background Vesnarinone has yielded controversial results on morbidity in patients with congestive heart Failure. We tested the hypothesis th at vesnarinone may have a beneficial effect on cardiac remodeling and function. Methods Thirty;Four patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <30% (17 treated with vesnarinone) underwent an echoca rdiography at baseline and at 12 +/- 5 months. left ventricular end-di astolic and end-systolic volume, mitral regurgitation, diastolic filli ng, and right ventricular area change were quantified and compared. Re sults When the vesnarinone group was considered as a whole, there was no significant effect of vesnarinone on cardiac systolic and diastolic function or remodeling. However, on increase in LVEF >7% was observed in six of the vesnarinone patients and none of the control group. Ves narinone improved right and left ventricular systolic function signifi cantly in patients with initial LVEF <25%. Conclusions In severe conge stive heart failure, vesnarinone induces variable responses but improv er biventricular performance in patients with the most impaired initia l function.