Effect of candesartan treatment on echocardiographic indices of cardiac remodeling in post-myocardial infarction patients

Objective: Myocardial infarction has unfavorable effect on structural and functional properties of the myocardium, referred to as cardiac remodeling. Left ventricular mass, left ventricular mass index, and relative wall thickness are important predictors of cardiac remodeling. In this study, we investigated the effect of candesartan treatment in comparison with zofenopril treatment on echocardiographic indices of cardiac remodeling in post myocardial infarction patients. Material and Methods: In this prospective study, patients who underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention were randomly assigned to a candesartan or zofenopril treatment. After randomization, echocardiographic indices of cardiac remodeling including left ventricular mass, left ventricular mass index, and relative wall thickness were evaluated before the start of treatment along with 1- and 6-month follow-ups. Results: According to our study, candesartan group showed significant reduction of estimated left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass index at 6-month follow-up visit compared to baseline values (199.53±38.51 g vs. 212.69±40.82 g; 99.05 g/m2 (90.00-116.5) vs. 106.0 g/m2 (96.0~123.00), p<0.05, respectively). This trend was also observed in zofenopril group during the 6-month period (201.22±40.07 g vs. 207.52±41.61 g; 101.0 g/m2 (92.25-111.75.0) vs. 104.50 g/m2 (95.0~116.75), p<0.05, respectively). Although both classes of drugs had favorable effects on post-myocardial infarction cardiac remodeling, the absolute benefit was more prominent in candesartan group as compared to zofenopril group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest that candesartan treatment following myocardial infarction may potentially be useful in terms of improving post-myocardial infarction cardiac remodeling.