Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (or syndrome) affects around 5,000 people annually in the UK, mainly middle-aged women, with about one in ten dying from it. It mimics a heart attack but results from sudden emotional or physical stress that weakens the heart muscle rather than from blocked arteries. Although most patients recover, they remain at increased risk of death, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and recurrent takotsubo episodes—risks comparable to those after a conventional heart attack.
Currently, there are no proven treatments. Early research suggests that renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, drugs that relax blood vessels and are already used for heart attacks and heart failure, might improve outcomes in takotsubo patients.
This proposed UK-wide study will test that hypothesis by recruiting 930 patients from 40 hospitals who have had a takotsubo attack within the past six months. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either a RAS inhibitor or not to receive a RAS inhibitor and followed for at least two years, with outcomes tracked through NHS health records. Over seven years, researchers will assess whether RAS inhibitors reduce deaths, cardiovascular events, recurrences, and healthcare costs, and improve symptoms and quality of life.
For more information please see the EVEREST study website.
Funded by: Health Technology Assessment Programme, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Led by: Professor Dana Dawson (NHS Grampian and University of Aberdeen)
Contacts
- Laura Moir; everest@abdn.ac.uk