Summary

Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) did not reduce the primary end point of cardiac remodeling at 6 months in patients who had heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction in the first sham-controlled, double-blind clinical trial to evaluate this approach. The Neutral Cardiac Therapy for Heart Failure study [NECTAR-HF; Zannad F et al. Eur Heart J. 2014] sought to determine whether an implanted VNS system would reset the altered autonomic nervous system balance found in HF. The 6-month data were presented, and follow-up will continue to 18 months.