Cardio Trial Files Throwback Thursday: AF Ablation vs. Amiodarone in HFrEF, Tafamidis vs. Placebo in Amyloid Cardiomyopathy, and Rosuvastatin in HF
Ablation Versus Amiodarone for Treatment of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure and an Implanted Device (AATAC)
Di Biase L et al. Circulation (March 2016)
Bottom Line: This was an open-label, randomized, parallel-group, multicenter study of 203 patients with persistent atrial fibrillation and heart failure. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1 ratio) to undergo catheter ablation (CA) or receive amiodarone (AMIO). Recurrence of AF was the primary outcome, with all-cause mortality and unplanned hospitalization as secondary outcomes. After 24 months of follow-up, CA was found to be superior to AMIO in achieving freedom from AF and reducing unplanned hospitalization and mortality.
Tafamidis Treatment for Patients with Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy
Maurer MS et al. NEJM (August 2018)
Bottom Line: This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial of 441 patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy who were randomly assigned in a 2:1:2 ratio to receive 80 mg of tafamidis, 20 mg of tafamidis, or placebo for 30 months. All-cause mortality and rates of cardiovascular-related hospitalizations were lower among patients who received tafamidis than among those who received placebo. Tafamidis was also associated with a lower rate of decline in distance for the 6-minute walk test and a lower rate of decline in KCCQ-OS score. The incidence and types of adverse events were similar in the two groups.
Rosuvastatin in Older Patients with Systolic Heart Failure
Kjekshus J et al. NEJM (November 2007)
Bottom Line: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 5011 patients at least 60 years of age with New York Heart Association class II, III, or IV ischemic, systolic heart failure. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 10 mg of rosuvastatin or placebo per day for a median follow-up of 32.8 months. The primary composite outcome was death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke. Rosuvastatin reduced levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, but did not reduce the primary outcome or the number of deaths from any cause. However, the drug did reduce the number of cardiovascular hospitalizations. No excessive episodes of muscle-related or other adverse events occurred in the rosuvastatin group.
Cardio Trial Files Issue #CRD-2025-07
Want to view past issues? Visit our archive:
