Impact of Sacubitril–Valsartan Treatment on Diastolic Function in Patients with Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction

Introduction Sacubitril/valsartan (S–V) has been shown to reduce clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). This benefit has been mostly attributed to an improvement in systolic function. Aim This study aimed to evaluate longitudinal changes in several echocardiographic parameters of diastolic function in a cohort of patients with HFrEF receiving S–V. Methods Echocardiographic parameters of consecutive patients receiving S–V, such as diastolic dysfunction (DD) grade and other individual diastolic and systolic function parameters, were prospectively collected at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was also recorded. Results 65 patients (73.9% males; 61.5 ± 13 years) with HFrEF in NYHA class II–IV were evaluated. There was a significant reduction in DD grade after treatment with maximal tolerated doses ( p < 0.001). Patients with advanced DD showed the most significant improvements: 75% and 60% of patients with initial grade 3 and 2, respectively, had better grade after 6 months of S–V. Moreover, there was a reduction in E/e′ ratio ( p = 0.004), left atrial longitudinal strain ( p = 0.002), and an improvement of left ventricle ejection fraction ( p < 0.001) and NYHA functional class ( p = 0.001). Among those subjects who improved their functional class, a higher percentage improved their DD grade (39.3%, p = 0.025) in comparison with those not improving their NYHA class (25%, p = 0.434). Conclusions In addition to an improvement in systolic function parameters, patients with HFrEF receiving S–V improved their diastolic function. This echocardiographic improvement is particularly relevant in those patients with better NYHA class at 6-month follow-up.