To the Editor: When the findings of a clinical trial are diametricallythe opposite of those anticipated, a reevaluation of the originalpremises of the study is appropriate. Packer et al. (Oct. 10issue)1 reported that amlodipine reduced mortality in a subgroupof patients with "nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy." No satisfactoryexplanation was provided for this unexpected result.
The use of the phrase "nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy" suggeststhat the investigators considered that condition to be almostsynonymous with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, in whichthe coronary angiogram is normal. The proportion of patientsin the trial classified as having "nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy". . . [Full Text of this Article]
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