Response by Sex in Patient-Centered Outcomes With Baroreflex Activation Therapy in Systolic Heart Failure

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess sex differences in the efficacy and safety of baroreflex activation therapy (BAT) in the BeAT-HF (Baroreflex Activation Therapy for Heart Failure) trial.

Background: Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) alone (control group) or BAT plus GDMT.

Methods: Pre-specified subgroup analyses including change from baseline to 6 months in 6-min walk distance (6MWD), quality of life (QoL) assessed using the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHQ), New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were conducted in men versus women.

Results: Fifty-three women and 211 men were evaluated. Women had similar baseline NT-proBNP levels, 6MWDs, and percentage of subjects with NYHA functional class III symptoms but poorer MLWHQ scores (mean 62 ± 22 vs. 50 ± 24; p = 0.01) compared with men. Women experienced significant improvement from baseline to 6 months with BAT plus GDMT relative to GDMT alone in MLWHQ score (-34 ± 27 vs. -9 ± 23, respectively; p < 0.01), 6MWD (44 ± 45 m vs. -32 ± 118 m; p < 0.01), and improvement in NYHA functional class (70% vs. 27%; p < 0.01), similar to the responses seen in men, with no significant difference in safety. Women receiving BAT plus GDMT had a significant decrease in NT-proBNP (-43% vs. 7% with GDMT alone; difference -48%; p < 0.01), while in men this decrease was -15% versus 2%, respectively (difference -17%; p = 0.08), with an interaction p value of 0.05.

Conclusions: Women in BeAT-HF had poorer baseline QoL than men but demonstrated similar improvements with BAT in 6MWD, QoL, and NYHA functional class. Women had a significant improvement in NT-proBNP, whereas men did not. (Baroreflex Activation Therapy for Heart Failure [BeAT-HF]; NCT02627196).