Clinical trials update from the European Society of Cardiology Meeting 2011: ARISTOTLE, SMART‐AV: QLV substudy, SHIFT: echocardiography and quality of life substudies, European CRT Survey, and Basic Science Update

Abstract

This article provides information and a commentary on key trials relevant to the pathophysiology, prevention, and treatment of heart failure presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting held in Paris, France in August 2011. Unpublished reports should be considered as preliminary, since analyses may change in the final publication. Results from ARISTOTLE suggest that apixaban is more effective than warfarin for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. Electrical dyssynchrony, measured by the time from onset of electrical activity on the surface ECG to activation of myocardium by intrinsic conduction at the pacing site (QLV), was a strong and independent predictor of improvement in ventricular function after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in an observational analysis of a subgroup of patients from the SMART-AV study. Subgroup analyses from SHIFT suggest that heart rate reduction with ivabradine causes favourable left ventricular remodelling and improves quality of life in patients with symptomatic systolic heart failure and an increased heart rate. The European CRT Survey reported outcome data.--

The European Heart Journal and the European Journal of Heart Failure: partners in scientific publishing

“…We believe that the first category is important, because basic research is essential to the journal, but also for the ESC Heart Failure Association as a whole. This is reflected by the great interest of the heart failure community shown in the Annual Winter Meeting in Switzerland, which focuses on Basic Science, and which has now also been included in the recent Clinical Trials Update paper by Cleland published in our journal . Secondly, the field of arrhythmias and electrophysiology, devices (both intra‐ and extracardiac),− and telemonitoring, is of importance because some of the big breakthroughs in recent years in the management of heart failure have been achieved in this particular field.…”