TY - JOUR T1 - The clinical effects of vasopressin receptor antagonists in heart failure JF - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine JO - Cleve Clin J Med SP - S24 LP - S29 VL - 73 IS - 6 suppl 2 AU - Gary Francis AU - Mihai Gheorghiade Y1 - 2006/06/01 UR - http://www.ccjm.org/content/73/6_suppl_2/S24.abstract N2 - The neurohormone arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a promising target in the treatment of heart failure because AVP promotes congestion and hyponatremia, each of which is associated with poor outcomes. Diuretics are standard therapy for heart failure, but they have several limitations, including worsening renal function and hyponatremia. Blocking AVP leads to effective aquaresis, improvements in hemodynamics and renal function parameters, weight loss, and normalization of serum sodium, without changes in blood pressure or heart rate. In placebo-controlled trials in the inpatient and outpatient setting, the AVP receptor antagonist tolvaptan reduced body weight and edema and normalized serum sodium in patients with heart failure. ER -