Effects of blood pressure-lowering drugs in heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Journal article

We aimed to combine evidence from all heart failure trials that have investigated the effects of drugs with blood pressure (BP)-lowering properties to assess the extent to which such drugs reduce BP in heart failure, the association between the net change in BP between treatment arms and cause-specific outcomes and whether treatment effects (efficacy and safety) vary according to baseline BP. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis including randomized clinical trials of drugs with BP-lowering properties in patients with chronic heart failure with at least 300 patient-years follow-up. We included a total of 37 trials (91 950 patients) and showed that treatment with drugs with BP-lowering properties resulted in a small but significant decrease in SBP in patients with heart failure with no evidence that the efficacy and safety of those drugs varied according to baseline BP.

Authors: Pinho-Gomes, A; Azevedo, L; Bidel, Z; Nazarzadeh, M; Canoy, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins
• Journal: Journal of Hypertension
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 1757–1767
• Publication date: 2019-04-03
• Acceptance date: 2019-02-26
• DOI: 10.1097/hjh.0000000000002094
• ISSN: 0263-6352
• Language: English
• Keywords: systematic review; antihypertensive agent; FFR; heart failure; meta-analysis; blood pressure; hypertension