Vericiguat is associated with improved survival and fewer hospitalizations among heart failure (HF) patients, according to a new meta-analysis published in Current Problems in Cardiology.[1]
Vericiguat, a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator sold under the brand name Verquvo, is distributed by Merck. It first gained FDA approval for chronic HF in January 2021, but specialists are still hoping to improve their understanding of the medication’s potential.
“There is an excellent potential for vericiguat to improve the living quality of patients with HF,” wrote first author Taha Gul Shaikh, MBBS, with Dow University of Health Sciences in Pakistan, and colleagues. “However, a standard limitation across the literature has been the heterogenous results of the trials and the lack of large-scale studies to establish an association with vericiguat conclusively. Therefore, the safety of this drug needs to be carefully assessed.”
Shaikh et al. focused on data from more than 21,500 HF patients who participated in one of seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Overall, three of the five studies focused on all-cause death found that vericiguat was linked to a significant improvement compared to a placebo. The other two studies found no significant difference in all-cause death.
Cardiovascular death, meanwhile, was examined in six of the seven RCTs, and four of those studies found that the medication was associated with a significant improvement. One study actually identified a higher risk of cardiovascular death with vericiguat than with a placebo, and another found no difference.
Another efficacy outcome the authors were focused on was HF hospitalizations. Five RCTs examined that outcome, and all five identified a significant improvement among patients taking vericiguat.
On the safety side of things, vericiguat was associated with a limited number of side effects, though syncope and hypotension were the most common. Anemia was also identified as a side effect in some studies, particular when patients received smaller doses.
Reviewing these different findings, the authors concluded that vericiguat was an effective, well-tolerated treatment option for patients presenting with HF.
“Vericiguat administration can become a breakthrough in the treatment of HF as it significantly improves the overall disease severity by reducing the incidence of HF hospitalization and mortality in patients with HF,” the authors wrote. “Therefore, clinicians should start using vericiguat as an add-on treatment in these patients.”
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Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.