Extended follow-up of patients randomly assigned in the Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition...

We hypothesized that the benefit from ramipril on cardiac events and on left ventricular end-systolic volume (ESVI) in the Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition Post-revascularization Study (APRES) randomized controlled trial (RCT) was associated with long-term improvement.

For the 3.2 years after the end of the RCT, we obtained information from a national database regarding date and cause of death and hospitalization for the 159 enrolled patients.

Assignment to ramipril in the RCT resulted in a lower rate of cardiac death or hospitalization with heart failure up to the time of complete follow-up of all patients at 4.3 years (relative risk [RR], 0.28; P =.018) and up to 1.5 years after the end of the RCT (RR, 0.35; P =.042) but not up to the complete extended follow-up time at 6.9 years (RR, 0.65; P =.27). Independent predictors for risk of future cardiac death or hospitalization with heart failure were (a) left ventricular dilation (LVD) (RR, 2.84; P =.031), defined as an increase in ESVI greater than the reproducibility coefficient, and (b) composite event of acute myocardial infarction or development of heart failure or LVD (RR, 12.44; P <.001). Ramipril significantly reduced events (a) (P =.046) and (b) (P =.015) during the RCT.

There is congruence between the beneficial effect of ramipril on LVD, acute myocardial infarction, or heart failure and the prognostic importance of these factors and on cardiac death and hospitalization with heart failure. This observation supports and reinforces conclusions from previous APRES reports that ramipril benefits non-high-risk patients after revascularization.