Background: Recent registries have shown that recommended drugs for the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF) are under-prescribed in daily practice.
Aims: To determine prescription rates of CHF drugs, and to assess predictive factors for drug prescription using data from a large panel of French cardiologists.
Methods and results: We included 1919 outpatients, with NYHA class II-IV heart failure and a left ventricular ejection fraction <40%. The most frequently prescribed drugs were diuretics (83%), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) (71%), beta-blockers (65%), spironolactone (35%) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) (21%); 61% of patients received a combination of a beta-blocker and an ACE-I or ARB. Target doses were reached in 49% of the patients for ACE-I, but in only 18% for beta-blockers and in 9% for ARBs. Multivariate analyses showed that age >75 years was an independent factor associated with under-prescription of ACE-I-ARBs, beta-blockers or spironolactone. Renal failure was associated with a lower prescription of ACE-I-ARB and spironolactone, and asthma was a predictor of under-prescription of beta-blockers.
Conclusions: In this contemporary survey, prescription rates of CHF drugs were higher than previously reported. However, dosages were lower than those recommended in guidelines. Age remained an independent predictor of under-prescription of CHF drugs.