A study aimed to determine if angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers combined with angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors enhance clinical results for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). A total of 2,548 CHF patients on ACE inhibitors with a New York Heart Association class of II-IV and a left-ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or lower were randomly assigned candesartan or a placebo. The main measurement for the study was the combination of cardiovascular death or hospitalization due to CHF. After an average of 41 months, Candesartan reduced each of the components of the primary outcome significantly, as well as the total number of hospital admissions for CHF. The study concluded that adding candesartan to ACE inhibitor treatments considerably reduces cardiovascular events in CHF patients with decreased left-ventricular ejection fraction.
Reference: McMurray JJ, Ostergren J, Swedberg K, et al. Effects of candesartan in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced left-ventricular systolic function taking angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors: the CHARM-Added trial. Lancet. 2003 Sep 6;362(9386):767-71. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14283-3. PMID: 13678869.
