P3538Effect of beta-blockers on mortality in heart failure with mid-range and preserved ejection fraction: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background Despite the high mortality rate, there is no established therapy to improve survival in heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) or in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). An individual patient-level analysis of major randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted by the Beta-Blockers in Heart Failure Collaborative Group (BB-HF) did not show clear mortality benefit of beta-blockers (BBs) in HFmrEF or HFpEF. However, due to the strict enrollment criteria, the patients who participated in these trials might represent a selected group of patients that is poorly representative of patients treated in routine clinical practice. In contrast, clinical characteristics of real-world patients are similar to those of patients enrolled in observational cohort studies (OCSs). Although many OCSs have examined the prognostic effect of BBs in HFmrEF/HFpEF, results are inconsistent due to limited power with small sample sizes and/or inadequate adjustment for known prognostic factors. Purpose We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of OCSs and RCTs to determine the effect of BBs on mortality in HFmrEF/HFpEF. Methods A search of MEDLINE and EMBASE was conducted in November 2018. Clinical studies reporting the outcome of mortality for HF patients with EF≥0.40, being assigned to BB treatment and non-BB control group, were included. Results Seven OCSs with propensity score (PS) analysis (16,295 patients), 6OCSs without PS analysis (15,275 patients), and 4RCTs (1222 patients) were included for this meta-analysis. Forest plot of the effect of BBs on mortality is shown in Figure 1. Use of BBs was associated with reduced risk of mortality in the pooled analysis of OCSs with PS analysis (RR [95% CI] = 0.83 [0.74–0.92], P<0.001) and in that of OCSs without PS analysis (0.70 [0.52–0.94], P<0.05), but not in that of RCTs (0.88 [0.62–1.24], P=0.45). Overall, use of BBs was associated with reduced risk of mortality (RR [95% CI] = 0.82 [0.75–0.89], P<0.001). No evidence of publication bias was found either in visual inspection of funnel plots or using the Egger test (P>0.1). Figure 1 Conclusions Our meta-analysis showed that treatment with BBs for the HF patients with EF≥0.40 was associated with reduced risk of mortality. Our findings emphasize the importance of conducting new well-designed studies such as registry-based RCTs to confirm our observed potential survival benefit of BBs in HFmrEF or HFpEF.