The lack of such data has likely contributed to the low utilization of beta blockers in the treatment of heart failure despite persuasive evidence that these drugs can prolong life in patients with mild or moderate disease. A benefit was apparent in all subgroups of patients that were examined, including women and elderly patients, as well as patients who had extremely depressed cardiac function or who had been hospitalized multiple times for heart failure within one year of their entry into the study. In addition, the number of patients who needed to stop their study medication permanently because of adverse effects or other reasons was lower in the carvedilol group than in the placebo group. Heart failure develops when the heart is weakened and unable to pump blood efficiently through the body. It commonly results from damage to the heart after a heart attack, high blood pressure, or diabetes.
Heart failure is the only major cardiovascular disease on the increase.
Currently, it affects nearly five-million Americans. An estimated 400,000 to 700,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed each year, and the number of deaths in the U.S. from this condition has more than doubled since 1979, averaging 250,000 annually. The impact of heart failure has grown despite the use of digitalis, diuretics and ACE inhibitors. It is estimated that less than 20 percent of patients with heart failure in the U.S. are receiving beta blockers. In Europe, fewer than five percent of patients with heart failure are receiving beta blockers.