Tolvaptan a possible adjunct treatment for heart failure

The investigational vasopressin 2 receptor antagonist tolvaptan demonstrates potential as an adjunct treatment for heart failure, according to results of the phase III EVEREST* trial, presented during a late-breaking session at the 56th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) [New Orleans, Louisiana, US; March 2007], and simultaneously published online in JAMA. Compared with placebo, tolvaptan provided significant improvements in the short-term symptoms of acutely decompensated heart failure in hospitalised patients receiving conventional care, without having an adverse effect on long-term survival. In an editorial accompanying the study in JAMA, Dr Clyde W Yancy from Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, US, concludes that "the data from the EVEREST study suggest that a novel therapy for [acute decompensated heart failure] has been identified that may potentially have an impact on clinical practice".