Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35894772›Full record

SynthesisESC heart failure2022

Do adrenergic alpha-antagonists increase the risk of poor cardiovascular outcomes? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

José Pedro Sousa, Diogo Mendonça, Rogério Teixeira, Lino Gonçalves

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in ESC heart failure, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Loop diuretics and subsequent use of urinary symptom medications in older adults: evaluation of a possible prescribing cascade.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

José Pedro SousaServiço de Cardiologia, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-0449-0479
Diogo MendonçaFaculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Rogério TeixeiraServiço de Cardiologia, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Lino GonçalvesServiço de Cardiologia, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Due to concerns regarding neurohormonal activation and fluid retention, adrenergic alpha-1 receptor antagonists (A1Bs) are generally avoided in the setting of heart disease, namely, symptomatic heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, this contraindication is mainly supported by ancient studies, having recently been challenged by newer ones. We aim to perform a comprehensive meta-analysis aimed at ascertaining the extent to which A1Bs might influence cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Web of Science for both prospective and retrospective studies, published until 1 December 2020, addressing the impact of A1Bs on both clinical outcomes-namely, acute heart failure (AHF), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), CV and all-cause mortality-and on CV surrogate measures, specifically left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and exercise tolerance, by means of exercise duration. Both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and studies including only HF patients were further investigated separately. Study-specific odds ratios (ORs) and mean differences (MDs) were pooled using traditional meta-analytic techniques, under a random-effects model. A record was registered in PROSPERO database, with the code number CRD42020181804. Fifteen RCTs, three non-randomized prospective and two retrospective studies, encompassing 32 851, 19 287, and 71 600 patients, respectively, were deemed eligible; 62 256 patients were allocated to A1B, on the basis of multiple clinical indications: chronic HF itself [14 studies, with 72 558 patients, including seven studies with 850 HFrEF or HF with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF) patients], arterial hypertension (four studies, with 44 184 patients) and low urinary tract symptoms (two studies, with 6996 patients). There were 25 998 AHF events, 1325 ACS episodes, 955 CV deaths and 33 567 all-cause deaths. When considering only RCTs, A1Bs were, indeed, found to increase AHF risk (OR 1.78, [1.46, 2.16] 95% CI, P < 0.00001, i

Indexed as

Heart FailureVentricular Dysfunction, LeftAdrenergic alpha-AntagonistsHospitalizationHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicStroke VolumeVentricular Function, LeftAdrenergic alpha-AntagonistsAcute coronary syndromeAdrenergic alpha-antagonistsExercise toleranceHeart failureLeft ventricular ejection fractionMortality

Identifiers

PMID35894772
PMCPMC9715777

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.