Association Between Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonist Use With Worsening Renal Function and Prognosis in Patients...

Prognostic implications of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA) initiation in the context of worsening renal function (WRF) in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) remain unknown.

This was a post hoc analysis using data from Japanese AHF registries (NARA-HF [Nara Registry and Analyses for Heart Failure], WET-HF [West Tokyo Heart Failure], REALITY-AHF [Registry Focused on Very Early Presentation and Treatment in Emergency Department of Acute Heart Failure]). MRA-naïve patients at baseline were included, comprising 1632 patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and 2407 with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction (HFmr/pEF). They were divided into 3 groups: MRA initiated without WRF (HFrEF, n=590; HFmr/pEF, n=572), MRA initiated with WRF (HFrEF, n=74; HFmr/pEF, n=100), and no MRA initiation (HFrEF, n=968; HFmr/pEF, n=1735). WRF was defined as a 0.3 mg/dL increase from admission to discharge. The composite of death or HF hospitalization after discharge was assessed.

During the 1-year follow-up, 369 and 593 events occurred in patients with HFrEF and HFmr/pEF, respectively. Overall, MRA initiation during hospitalization of AHF was independently associated with better prognosis (hazard ratio [HR], 0.81), mainly driven by HF hospitalization. Among patients with HFrEF, the groups with MRA with and without WRF showed a lower incidence of the outcome than the no-MRA group, even after adjusting for risk factors (HR, 0.75 and 0.49, respectively). Among patients with HFmr/pEF, MRA initiation without WRF was independently associated with better prognosis (HR, 0.78), but MRA initiation with WRF was not.

Initiating an MRA during AHF hospitalization was associated with better postdischarge outcomes in HFrEF, irrespective of creatinine elevation, whereas no such consistent association was observed in HFmr/pEF.