Spironolactone reduces heart failure hospitalizations, but not mortality

A late-breaking clinical trial, known as the Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist (TOPCAT) trial, presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions, demonstrates that spironolactone did not reduce the primary outcome of cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization, nor surviving a cardiac arrest in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (pump function). However, spironolactone did reduce the major burden faced by these patients-the risk of repeated hospitalizations for heart failure.