The effects of eplerenone on length of stay and total days of heart failure hospitalization after myocardial infarction in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with increased readmission rates. This study evaluated the effects of eplerenone, a selective aldosterone blocking agent, on the duration of subsequent hospitalizations for HF in the Eplerenone Post-Acute Myocardial Infarction Heart Failure Efficacy and Survival Study (EPHESUS).

METHODS: The EPHESUS study included 6,632 patients post-AMI with LVEF < or =40% and clinical HF or diabetes, receiving standard therapy, randomized to either eplerenone 25 mg, titrated to 50 mg daily, or placebo, with a mean follow-up of 16 months. Analyses of the length of stay and total number of days of HF hospitalizations per patient were conducted on a subgroup of 828 patients with subsequent HF hospitalizations, overall and across 5 distinct geographic regions.

RESULTS: Eplerenone was associated with a 1.6-day reduction in the mean length of HF hospitalization (9.2 vs 10.8 days with placebo; P = .019) and 3.6-day reduction in the total days spent in the hospital for HF (13.3 vs 16.9 days with placebo; P = .0006). These benefits were observed in all geographic regions.

CONCLUSIONS: In patients post-AMI with reduced LVEF and HF or diabetes, eplerenone added to standard therapy reduced the mean length and total days of HF hospitalizations compared to placebo in all regions. Given the high cost of hospital care for HF, these findings may translate into an economic benefit to health care worldwide.