Table 2 Echocardiographic and biochemical measurements of treated patients at baseline and at final evaluation.
| Levosimendan (n = 17) | Placebo (n = 8) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Final | Baseline | Final | |
| NYHA class: II/III/IV | 0/7/10 | 10/7/0 | 0/4/4 | 0/3/5 |
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 74 (9) | 77 (10) | 73 (8) | 76 (10) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 117 (14) | 114 (16) | 110 (15) | 110 (13) |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 73 (8) | 70 (8) | 71 (8) | 69 (4) |
| LV end‐diastolic diameter (mm) | 36 (4) | 34 (4)* | 37 (4) | 39 (4)* |
| LV end‐systolic diameter (mm) | 31 (5) | 29 (6)* | 31 (4) | 32 (4) |
| LV ejection fraction (%) | 22 (4) | 26 (5)* | 23 (4) | 22 (4) |
| LV end‐diastolic volume index (ml/m2) | 133 (25) | 120 (28)* | 144 (29) | 156 (30)* |
| LV end‐systolic volume index (ml/m2) | 95 (28) | 80 (25)* | 98 (25) | 106 (22)* |
| LV end‐systolic wall stress (g/cm2) | 859 (129) | 748 (221)* | 807 (107) | 828 (105)* |
| NT‐proBNP (pg/ml) | 1547 (347) | 966 (363)* | 1302 (302) | 1529 (321)* |
| Serum creatinine (μmol/l) | 115 (27) | 115 (18) | 124 (18) | 133 (35) |
| hsCRP (ng/ml) | 9.3 (2.5) | 7.2 (4.1)* | 10.1 (3.1) | 10.5 (3.5) |
| Interleukin 6 (pg/ml) | 13.1 (3.8) | 10.8 (7.2)* | 18.1 (3.0) | 17.8 (3.0) |
| Troponin T: negative/positive† | 5/12 | 6/11 | 3/5 | 1/7 |
hsCRP, high‐sensitivity C reactive protein; LV, left ventricular; NT‐proBNP, N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide; NYHA, New York Heart Association.
*Significantly different versus the corresponding value before treatment in the same group (paired t test, Wilcoxon's paired test).
†Positive troponin T is defined as ⩾0.01 ng/ml.