TY  - JOUR
T1  - LOsartan vs candesartan for heart failure—reply
AU  - Svanström H, Pasternak B, Hviid A
Y1  - 2012/07/25
N1  - 10.1001/jama.2012.7644
JO  - JAMA
SP  - 336
EP  - 337
VL  - 308
IS  - 4
N2  - 
First, Lund and Benson question the general validity of ICD codes for the identification of heart failure, and reference a systematic review1 showing significant variation across different data sources. However, the specific data source used in our study for the identification of heart failure patients has been validated with positive predictive values ranging from 81% to 100%.2- 3 This should be well within what is considered an adequate predictive value. Additionally, the study patient characteristics (Table 1 in article), such as the high baseline prevalence of cardiovascular disorders and risk factors (eg, 49% with ischemic heart disease and 18% with diabetes), together with the 37% mortality (during a median 1.9 years of follow-up), reflect a study population with severe morbidity, typical for patients with heart failure.

SN  - 0098-7484
M3  - doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.7644
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2012.7644
ER  -