Clinical trials update from the American College of Cardiology 2009: ADMIRE-HF, PRIMA, STICH, REVERSE, IRIS, partial ventricular support, FIX-HF-5, vagal stimulation, REVIVAL-3, pre-RELAX-AHF, ACTIVE-A, HF-ACTION, JUPITER, AURORA, and OMEGA.

This article provides information and a commentary on trials relevant to the pathophysiology, prevention and treatment of heart failure presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in 2009. Unpublished reports should be considered as preliminary, since analyses may change in the final publication. (123)I-mIBG myocardial scintigraphy was a good predictor of mortality in patients with heart failure in ADMIRE-HF. In PRIMA, use of individualized target NT-proBNP levels failed to improve outcomes compared with usual care in patients hospitalized with symptomatic heart failure. In the STICH trial, additional ventricular reconstruction surgery failed to improve outcomes in patients with ischaemic heart failure undergoing CABG. Cardiac resynchronization therapy may modify disease progression in patients with mild heart failure, according to data from REVERSE. Implantation of a defibrillator early after MI in high-risk patients in the IRIS study failed to improve outcomes compared with usual care. Cardiac contractility modulation showed some beneficial effects on symptoms and exercise capacity in the unblinded FIX-HF-5 study. Data from pre-RELAX-AHF show that relaxin may have potential as a treatment for acute heart failure. HF-ACTION showed that patients who complied with an exercise training regime achieved a better outcome, although this may be confounded by the ability of patients with a good prognosis to exercise for longer.