Effect of Genetic Polymorphism on the Clinical Outcome of Patients With Heart Failure

Heart failure (HF) is one the most common cause of hospitalization and represents the end stage of a variety of heart conditions; it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.The pathophysiology of HF is centered on increased activity in the adrenergic and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone systems (RAAS), which leads to vasoconstriction and fluid restriction with further deleterious effect on cardiac function. Β-blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and aldosterone antagonists reduce activity in these pathways and have shown prognostic benefit, thus are the foundation of HF therapy.There is a growing body of evidence that variation in proteins within the sympathetic axis and RAAS influence drug response thus increasingly pharmacogenetics of HF research is being sought as a way to optimize HF treatment and advance new drug development in this area.