Efficacy and safety of vericiguat in heart failure: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of vericiguat in patients with heart failure (HF). METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive literature review of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases up to 14 December 2022 for studies comparing vericiguat with placebo in patients with HF. Clinical data were extracted and cardiovascular deaths, adverse effects, and HF-related hospitalization were analyzed using Review Manager software (version 5.3), after quality assessment of the enrolled studies. RESULTS: Four studies (6705 patients) were included in this meta-analysis. There were no significant differences in the basic characteristics of the included studies. There was no significant difference in adverse effects between the vericiguat group and placebo group, and no significant differences between the groups in terms of cardiovascular death and HF hospitalization. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis indicated that vericiguat was not an effective drug for HF; however, more clinical trials are required to verify its efficacy.