Impact of sacubitril/valsartan on the long-term incidence of ventricular arrhythmias in chronic heart failure patients

Abstract

Background: Sacubitril/valsartan decreased the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients suffering from heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, long-term data are sparse. Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the incidence of life-threatening arrhythmias consisting of ventricular tachycardia and/or ventricular fibrillation before and after initiation of sacubitril/valsartan treatment. Methods: Out of 12,000 patients with HFrEF from 2016–2018, 148 patients were newly prescribed sacubitril/valsartan, but the long-term data of only 127 patients were available and included in this study. Results: Patients with an average age of 66.8 ± 12.1 had a median left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 25% (interquartile range (IQR) 5.00–45.00) and 30% (IQR 10.00–55.00, p < 0.0005) before and after sacubitril/valsartan treatment, respectively. Systolic blood pressure decreased from 127.93 ± 22.01 to 118.36 ± 20.55 mmHg (p = 0.0035) at 6 months of follow-up. However, in 59 patients with a long-term outcome of 12 months, ventricular arrhythmias persistently increased (ventricular fibrillation from 27.6 to 29.3%, ventricular tachycardia (VT) from 12% to 13.8%, and nonsustained VT from 26.6 to 33.3%). Conclusions: Sacubitril/valsartan does not reduce the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in chronic HFrEF patients over 12 months of follow-up.