Effects of Carvedilol on Left Ventricular Function and Oxidative Stress in Infants and Children with Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: A 12-Month, Two-Center, Open-Label Study

Abstract Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the effects of carvedilol adjunct to standard treatment on left ventricular function (LVF), estimated as ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) on echocardiography, in children with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). A secondary end point was to characterize the antioxidant potential of carvedilol. Methods: Hospitalized children aged ≤16 years with clinically stable DCM and advanced congestive heart failure (HF) with modified New York Heart Association Classification for Children (NYHAC) functional classes II to IV and EF 62.5 kg) was associated with significant decreases from baseline in systolic BP (130 [4] vs 123 [3] mm Hg; P < 0.05), diastolic BP (85 [4] vs 77 [4] mm Hg; P < 0.05), and HR (81 [4] vs 65 [4] bpm; P < 0.001) after the first month of addition to standard therapy. At 6 months, there were significant improvements from baseline in EF (37.2% [2.4%] vs 50.2% [2.3%]; P < 0.001) and FS (18.37% [2.00%] vs 23.58% [0.90%]; P < 0.00