Efficacy of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists in postmyocardial infarction patients with or without left ventricular dysfunction: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: There is heated debate about the benefits of using mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) in addition to standard therapy in patients admitted for myocardial infarction (MI) with or without left ventricular dysfunction (LVD). METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were scanned by a formal search of electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Ovid, and clinical trials) from their inception to April 2018. A meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.3 to identify studies reporting the efficacy of MRAs use in post-MI patients with or without LVD. RESULTS: Thirteen RCTs involving 11,365 individuals were eligible for this study. MRAs treatment reduced all-cause mortality by 16%, cardiovascular death by 16%, and death from heart failure (HF) by 22% in post-MI patients. MRAs use reduced all-cause mortality by 13% and cardiovascular death by 15% in post-MI patients with LVD, but there was no significant difference in all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death in post-MI patients without LVD (relative ratios [RR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.26–2.69, P = .76, I(2) = 0%; RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.33–3.09, P = .99, I(2) = 0%). In 6 RCTs involving post-MI patients, MRAs treatment had a significant effect on improving left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (mean difference 3.33, 95% CI 0.91–5.75, P = .007, I(2) = 94%). Patients treated with MRAs did not show a decrease in recurrent MI or repeat revascularization compared with patients treated without MRAs (RR 0.95, 95% CI [0.80–1.12], P = .54, I(2) = 0%; RR 1.09, 95% CI [0.79–1.50], P = .61, I(2) = 0%). However, MRAs treatment significantly increased the incidence of hyperkalemia compared with patients treated without MRAs (RR 2.05, 95% CI [1.60, 2.61], P < .00001, I(2) = 49%). CONCLUSION: MRAs treatment reduced all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, and death from HF in post-MI patients. MRAs treatment also demonstrated a significant improvement in LVEF. MRAs reduced cardiovascular death and all-cause mortality in patients with LVD. Eplerenone significantly reduced all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death in post-MI patients. However, MRAs failed to show any cardiovascular benefit in post-MI patients without LVD.