Optimising Use of Evidence-Based Pharmacological Therapy in Heart Failure

Heart failure remains a major clinical and public health problem, but the optimal use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments in patients with heart failure can further reduce mortality and morbidity. This doctoral thesis i) highlighted the 'treatment gap' in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction, ii) demonstrated that aspirin does not reduce the beneficial effects of eplerenone in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction, iii) provided evidence that clinical outcomes among patients with heart failure undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention have not improved over the last decade, and iv) that in this subgroup, statin therapy may provide no significant benefits. This body of research offers important insights into contemporary issues regarding the management of patients with heart failure.