The investigators will conduct a, randomized, phase 2, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, crossover trial of carvedilol in 26 PAH patients with World Health Organization functional class II or III symptoms and RV ejection fraction (EF) \< 45% for 6 months.
Adult PAH patients on a stable dose of an approved PAH medication will undergo the following baseline assessments: cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), right heart catheterization (RHC), echocardiogram, 6-minute walk test (6-MWT), plasma NT-ProBNP (biomarkers of RV function) and serum catecholamine (measure of sympathetic activation), and quality of life. Patients will be randomized to carvedilol (3.125 mg bid and escalated to 9.375 mg bid, as tolerated, over 3 months) or placebo in a 1:1 fashion. After 6 months, testing is repeated and patients are crossed over to the alternate treatment. Testing is repeated at the end of the study (month 13).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
2
Beta-adrenergic receptor blocker
Placebo
University of Minnesota Medical Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Mean Change in Right Ventricular Ejection Fraction as Measured by Cardiac MRI
Time frame: 6 months
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