NEWS . . . . . Their findings have been published in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. Our research indicates that black patients with heart failure may not benefit from standard doses of currently recommended therapies to the same extent as white patients, says Exner. We now need to follow up with additional research to investigate what therapies and what doses are needed to effectively treat black patients with heart failure.
Cardiac physicians prescribe enalapril for patients to prevent progression of heart failure.
Exner s team evaluated the response to enalapril in 800 black participants and a similar group of 1196 white patients over a period of nearly three years. Black and white patients given placebo had similar rates of hospitalization. The researchers also report that after one year of taking enalapril, white patients experienced significant reductions in their blood pressure while black patients did not. In Exner s analysis, white patients and black patients were matched according to sex, age, severity of ventricular dysfunction and whether they were given enalapril or placebo. Exner s research is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.