Quality of life in
heart failure patients is receiving increased attention as a reflection of a treatment's potential secondary benefit of general well-being and daily functioning. The
Metoprolol in
Dilated Cardiomyopathy (MDC) trial was conducted as a large, multicenter trial to establish the effects of
metoprolol on mortality and need for
heart transplantation in patients with symptomatic idiopathic
cardiomyopathy. It was found that
metoprolol was well tolerated, improved symptoms and cardiac function, and prevented
clinical deterioration in patients with symptomatic
idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Quality of life was evaluated as a secondary endpoint in 345 out of 383 randomized patients using a disease-specific questionnaire, the Quality of Life in
Heart Failure Questionnaire, depicting physical activity,
somatic symptoms, emotions, and life satisfaction. In a comparison of patients treated with
metoprolol or placebo, patients treated with
metoprolol noted a significantly more favorable response than those treated with placebo in terms of the overall treatment evaluation (p < 0.05). Additionally, an analysis of the changes from baseline to 18 months, using 95% confidence intervals, revealed that patients treated with
metoprolol showed a significant improvement from baseline to 18 months in life satisfaction, physical activity, and the total score, while patients treated with placebo did not change at all. The improvement in quality of life was supported by the correlations with improvement in traditional clinical parameters.