European Trial of Dronedarone in Moderate to Severe Congestive Heart Failure

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients hospitalized with symptomatic CHF, current New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-IV requiring treatment with a diuretic, who had had within the last month at least 1 episode of dyspnea or fatigue at rest, or on slight exertion corresponding to NYHA class III or IV * Wall motion index (WMI) ≤1.2 determined by a blinded central evaluation of a recorded standard echocardiography, equivalent to a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35%. Exclusion Criteria: * acute pulmonary edema within 12 hours prior to start of study medication * various heart conditions (cardiogenic shock, obstructive valvular disease, obstructive cardiomyopathy; acute myocardial infarction, cardiac surgery, acute myocarditis or constrictive pericarditis, history of torsades de pointes, bradycardia \<50 bpm and/or PR-interval ≥280 ms, QTc-interval \>500 ms, significant sinus node disease) * any illness or disorder other than CHF (cancer with metastasis, organ transplantation) * current participation in another clinical study or currently taking an investigational drug including dronedarone or concomitant prohibited medication or treatment with other class I or III anti-arrhythmic drugs * pregnant and/or breastfeeding women or women of child-bearing potential without adequate birth control * serum potassium \<3.5 mmol/L. The above information is not intended to contain all considerations relevant to a patient's potential participation in a clinical trial.