Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Clinical characteristics of 4133 patients enrolled in the I-PRESERVE trial

Background: We describe the baseline characteristics of subjects randomised in the largest placebo-controlled, morbidity-mortality trial to date in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction - the irbesartan in heart failure with preserved systolic function trial (I-PRESERVE). Methods and results: 4133 patients with a mean age of 72 years (a third were 75 years or older) were randomised and 60% were women. The mean (SD) LVEF was 59 (9)% and almost 80% of patients were in NYHA Class III or IV Approximately 80% of patients were also overweight or obese. Heart failure was reported by investigators to have a hypertensive aetiology in 64% of patients. Prior myocardial infarction was relatively uncommon (24%), as was coronary revascularisation (13%). Atrial fibrillation and diabetes each occurred in between a quarter and a third of patients. The following treatments were used at baseline: diuretic 83%, beta-blocker 59%, calcium channel blocker 40%, ACE inhibitor 25%, spironolactone 15% and digoxin 14%. Conclusions: Patients in I-PRESERVE are broadly representative of those seen in epidemiological studies and, because of this, the results of this trial should be generally applicable to "real world" patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction. (C) 2008 European Society of Cardilogy. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.