Heart failure re-hospitalizations and subsequent fatal events in coronary artery disease: insights from COMMANDER-HF, EPHESUS, and EXAMINE.

BACKGROUND: Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) are at increased risk of developing and being hospitalised for heart failure (HFH). However, the risk of HFH versus ischemic events may vary among patients with CAD, depending on whether acute myocardial infarction (MI), left ventricular dysfunction or decompensated HF is present at baseline. AIMS: We aim to explore the risk of non-fatal events (HFH, MI, stroke) and subsequent death in 3 landmark trials, COMMANDER-HF, EPHESUS and EXAMINE that, together, included patients with CAD with and without reduced ejection fraction and acute MI. METHODS: Events, person-time metrics and time-updated Cox models. RESULTS: In COMMANDER-HF the event-rate for the composite of AMI, stroke or all-cause death was 13.5 (12.8-14.3) events/100 py. Rates for AMI and stroke were much lower (2.2 [2.0-2.6] and 1.3 [1.1-1.6] events/100 py, respectively) than the rate of HFH (16.9 [16.1-17.9] events/100 py). In EPHESUS, the rates of MI and stroke were also lower than the rate of HFH: 7.2 (6.7-7.8), 1.9 (1.7-2.3), and 10.6 (9.9-11.3) events/100 py, but this was not true for EXAMINE with 4.4 (4.0-4.9), 0.7 (0.6-0.9), and 2.4 (2.0-2.7) events/100 py, respectively. In all 3 trials, a non-fatal event (HFH, MI or stroke) during follow-up doubled the risk of subsequent mortality. This most commonly followed a HFH. CONCLUSIONS: A first or recurrent HFH is common in patients with CAD and AMI or HFrEF and indicates a poor prognosis. Preventing the development of heart failure after AMI and control of congestion in patients with CAD and HFrEF are key unmet needs and therapeutic targets. REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01877915. URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01877915 .

Impact of Geographic Region on the COMMANDER-HF Trial.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to compare patient characteristics, outcomes, and treatment effects among regions in the COMMANDER-HF trial. BACKGROUND: Globalization of cardiovascular trials increases generalizability. However, regional differences may also introduce heterogeneity in results. METHODS: Incidence rates and interactions with treatment were recorded in pre-specified regions: Eastern Europe, Western Europe and South Africa, North America, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. RESULTS: Most patients (n = 3,224; 64.2%) were from Eastern Europe; 458 (9.1%) were from Western Europe and South Africa; 149 (3.0%) were from North America; 733 (14.6%) were from Asia-Pacific; and 458 (9.1%) were from Latin America. Compared with patients from Eastern Europe, patients from Western Europe and South Africa, North America, and Asia-Pacific were older and more likely to have coronary interventions and cardiac devices. Patients from Eastern Europe had the lowest event rates. For the primary outcome of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or all-cause death, event rates (100/year) were 11.6 in Eastern Europe (10.8 to 12.5); 19.5 (16.5 to 23.0) in Western Europe and South Africa; 14.2 (10.5 to 19.2) in North America; 17.7 (15.4 to 20.3) in Asia-Pacific; and 18.6 (15.6 to 22.1) in Latin America. There was a lower incidence of bleeding in Eastern Europe. Blood concentrations of rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Titusville, New Jersey) at 4 weeks were undetectable in 21% patients from Eastern Europe (n = 128) compared to 5% in other regions (n = 42). There was no evidence of treatment-by-region heterogeneity for the primary outcome (interactionp = 0.14), but a favorable effect on the secondary outcome of MI, stroke, or cardiovascular death was observed in Western Europe and South Africa, North America, and Latin America but not in Eastern Europe and Asia-Pacific (interactionp = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: In the COMMANDER-HF study, patients from Eastern Europe had a lower risk profile and fewer cardiovascular and bleeding events, possibly related to lower treatment adherence. Those differences might have influenced the effect of rivaroxaban therapy. (A Study to Assess the Effectiveness and Safety of Rivaroxaban in Reducing the Risk of Death, Myocardial Infarction or Stroke in Participants With Heart Failure and Coronary Artery Disease Following an Episode of Decompensated Heart Failure [COMMANDER HF]; NCT01877915).

Plasma D-dimer concentrations predicting stroke risk and rivaroxaban benefit in patients with heart failure and sinus rhythm: an analysis from the COMMANDER-HF trial.

AIMS: D-dimer is a marker of fibrin degradation that reflects intravascular coagulation. Therefore, plasma concentrations of D-dimer might predict thromboembolic risk and rivaroxaban treatment effect. The aims of this study were to investigate the association between D-dimer levels and the risk of stroke and other thrombotic, bleeding and fatal events, and whether D-dimer concentrations could predict rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice daily (vs. placebo) effect in patients enrolled in the COMMANDER-HF trial who were in sinus rhythm, had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Survival models with treatment-by-plasma D-dimer interaction. Baseline measurement of D-dimer was available in 4107 (82%) of 5022 patients enrolled. Median (percentile25-75 ) follow-up was 21 (12.9-32.8) months. The median (percentile25-75 ) plasma concentration of D-dimer was 360 (215-665) ng/mL. The D-dimer tertiles were: (i) ≤255 ng/mL; (ii) 256-515 ng/mL; and (iii) >515 ng/mL. Patients within the tertile 3 were older, and had lower body mass index, blood pressure, haemoglobin, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and left ventricular ejection fraction. Higher plasma D-dimer concentrations were independently associated with higher rates of death, stroke, and venous thromboembolism. For example, the all-cause death adjusted hazard ratio (HR) (95%CI) of tertile 3 vs. tertile 1 was 1.77 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.48-2.11; P < 0.001]. The effect of rivaroxaban was similar in each tertile of D-dimer for all outcomes except stroke. Patients within the tertile 3 had the greatest absolute and relative stroke reduction (tertile 1: HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.49-2.74; tertile 2: HR 1.45, 95% CI 0.77-2.73; tertile 3: HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.18-0.70; P for interaction = 0.008). The number-needed-to-treat to prevent one stroke in tertile 3 was 36. CONCLUSIONS: In COMMANDER-HF, rivaroxaban reduced the risk of stroke but the benefit may be confined to patients with D-dimer concentrations above 515 ng/mL. Prospective trials are warranted to confirm these findings.

Association of Rivaroxaban With Thromboembolic Events in Patients With Heart Failure, Coronary Disease, and Sinus Rhythm: A Post Hoc Analysis of the COMMANDER HF Trial.

Importance: Whether anticoagulation benefits patients with heart failure (HF) in sinus rhythm is uncertain. The COMMANDER HF randomized clinical trial evaluated the effects of adding low-dose rivaroxaban to antiplatelet therapy in patients with recent worsening of chronic HF with reduced ejection fraction, coronary artery disease (CAD), and sinus rhythm. Although the primary end point of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, or stroke did not differ between rivaroxaban and placebo, there were numerical advantages favoring rivaroxaban for myocardial infarction and stroke. Objective: To examine whether low-dose rivaroxaban was associated with reduced thromboembolic events in patients enrolled in the COMMANDER HF trial. Design, Setting, and Participants: Post hoc analysis of the COMMANDER HF multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with CAD and worsening HF. The trial randomized 5022 patients postdischarge from a hospital or outpatient clinic after treatment for worsening HF between September 2013 and October 2017. Patients were required to be receiving standard care for HF and CAD and were excluded for a medical condition requiring anticoagulation or a bleeding history. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio. Analysis was conducted from June 2018 and January 2019. Intervention: Patients were randomly assigned to receive 2.5 mg of rivaroxaban given orally twice daily or placebo in addition to their standard therapy. Main Outcomes and Measures: For this post hoc analysis, a thromboembolic composite was defined as either (1) myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, sudden/unwitnessed death, symptomatic pulmonary embolism, or symptomatic deep venous thrombosis or (2) all of the previous components except sudden/unwitnessed deaths because not all of these are caused by thromboembolic events. Results: Of 5022 patients, 3872 (77.1%) were men, and the overall mean (SD) age was 66.4 (10.2) years. Over a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 19.6 (11.7-30.8) months, fewer patients assigned to rivaroxaban compared with placebo had a thromboembolic event including sudden/unwitnessed deaths: 328 (13.1%) vs 390 (15.5%) (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.72-0.96; P = .01). When sudden/unwitnessed deaths were excluded, the results analyzing thromboembolic events were similar: 153 (6.1%) vs 190 patients (7.6%) with an event (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.64-0.98; P = .04). Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, thromboembolic events occurred frequently in patients with HF, CAD, and sinus rhythm. Rivaroxaban may reduce the risk of thromboembolic events in this population, but these events are not the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with recent worsening of HF for which rivaroxaban had no effect. While consistent with other studies, these results require confirmation in prospective randomized clinical trials. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01877915.