The Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvienza nell’Infarto Miocardico (GISSI-3) study was a multicenter, controlled, randomized, unblinded clinical trial conducted in 19,394 patients with acute myocardial infarction admitted to a coronary care unit. It was designed to examine the effects of short-term (6 week) treatment with lisinopril, nitrates, their combination, or no therapy on short-term (6 week) mortality and on long-term death and markedly impaired cardiac function. Patients presenting within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms who were hemodynamically stable were randomized, in a 2 x 2 factorial design, to six weeks of either 1) lisinopril alone (n=4841), 2) nitrates alone (n=4869), 3) lisinopril plus nitrates (n=4841), or 4) open control (n=4843). All patients received routine therapies, including thrombolytics (72%), aspirin (84%), and a beta-blocker (31%), as appropriate, normally utilized in acute myocardial infarction (MI) patients.
The protocol excluded patients with hypotension (systolic blood pressure ( 100 mmHg), severe heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and renal dysfunction (serum creatinine >2 mg/dL and/or proteinuria > 500 mg/24 h). Doses of lisinopril were adjusted as necessary according to protocol (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ).
Study treatment was withdrawn at six weeks except where clinical conditions indicated continuation of treatment.
The primary outcomes of the trial were the overall mortality at 6 weeks and a combined end point at 6 months after the myocardial infarction, consisting of the number of patients who died, had late (day 4) clinical congestive heart failure, or had extensive left ventricular damage defined as ejection fraction ≤ 35% or an akinetic-dyskinetic [A-D] score ≥ 45%. Patients receiving lisinopril (n=9646), alone or with nitrates, had an 11% lower risk of death (2p [two-tailed] = 0.04) compared to patients receiving no lisinopril (n=9672) (6.4% vs. 7.2%, respectively) at six weeks. Although patients randomized to receive lisinopril for up to six weeks also fared numerically better on the combined end point at 6 months, the open nature of the assessment of heart failure, substantial loss to follow-up echocardiography, and substantial excess use of lisinopril between 6 weeks and 6 months in the group randomized to 6 weeks of lisinopril, preclude any conclusion about this end point.Patients with acute myocardial infarction, treated with lisinopril, had a higher (9% versus 3.7%) incidence of persistent hypotension (systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg for more than 1 hour) and renal dysfunction (2.4% versus 1.1%) in-hospital and at six weeks (increasing creatinine concentration to over 3 mg/dL or a doubling or more of the baseline serum creatinine concentration). See ADVERSE REACTIONS Acute Myocardial Infarction.
Lisinopril tablets USP are indicated for the treatment of hemodynamically stable patients within 24 hours of acute myocardial infarction, to improve survival. Patients should receive, as appropriate, the standard recommended treatments such as thrombolytics, aspirin and beta-blockers.
In using lisinopril tablets, consideration should be given to the fact that another angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, captopril, has caused agranulocytosis, particularly in patients with renal impairment or collagen vascular disease, and that available data are insufficient to show that lisinopril tablets USP does not have a similar risk. (See WARNINGS).
In considering the use of lisinopril tablets USP, it should be noted that in controlled clinical trials ACE inhibitors have an effect on blood pressure that is less in Black patients than in non-Blacks. In addition, ACE inhibitors have been associated with a higher rate of angioedema in Black than in non-Black patients (see WARNINGS, Anaphylactoid and Possibly Related Reactions ).
In the GISSI-3 trial, in patients treated with lisinopril for six weeks following acute myocardial infarction, discontinuation of therapy occurred in 17.6% of patients.
Patients treated with lisinopril had a significantly higher incidence of hypotension and renal dysfunction compared with patients not taking lisinopril.
In the GISSI-3 trial, hypotension (9.7%), renal dysfunction (2%), cough (0.5%), post infarction angina (0.3%), skin rash and generalized edema (0.01%), and angioedema (0.01%) resulted in withdrawal of treatment. In elderly patients treated with lisinopril, discontinuation due to renal dysfunction was 4.2%.
Other clinical adverse experiences occurring in 0.3% to 1.0% of patients with hypertension or heart failure treated with lisinopril in controlled clinical trials and rarer, serious, possibly drug-related events reported in uncontrolled studies or marketing experience are listed below, and within each category are in order of decreasing severity:
Body as a Whole
Anaphylactoid reactions (see WARNINGS, Anaphylactoid and Possibly Related Reactions ), syncope, orthostatic effects, chest discomfort, pain, pelvic pain, flank pain, edema, facial edema, virus infection, fever, chills, malaise.
Cardiovascular: Cardiac arrest; myocardial infarction or cerebrovascular accident possibly secondary to excessive hypotension in high risk patients (see WARNINGS, Hypotension ); pulmonary embolism and infarction, arrhythmias (including ventricular tachycardia, atrial tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, bradycardia and premature ventricular contractions), palpitations, transient ischemic attacks, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, orthostatic hypotension, decreased blood pressure, peripheral edema, vasculitis.
Digestive: Pancreatitis, hepatitis (hepatocellular or cholestatic jaundice) (see WARNINGS, Hepatic Failure ), vomiting, gastritis, dyspepsia, heartburn, gastrointestinal cramps, constipation, flatulence, dry mouth.
Hematologic: Rare cases of bone marrow depression, hemolytic anemia, leukopenia/neutropenia and thrombocytopenia.
Endocrine: Diabetes mellitus, inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion.
Metabolic: Weight loss, dehydration, fluid overload, gout, weight gain. Cases of hypoglycemia in diabetic patients on oral antidiabetic agents or insulin have been reported in post-marketing experience (See PRECAUTIONS, Drug Interactions ).
Musculoskeletal: Arthritis, arthralgia, neck pain, hip pain, low back pain, joint pain, leg pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, lumbago.
Nervous System/Psychiatric: Stroke, ataxia, memory impairment, tremor, peripheral neuropathy (e.g., dysesthesia), spasm, paresthesia, confusion, insomnia, somnolence, hypersomnia, irritability, nervousness and mood alterations (including depressive symptoms).
Respiratory System: Malignant lung neoplasms, hemoptysis, pulmonary infiltrates, bronchospasm, asthma, pleural effusion, pneumonia, eosinophilic pneumonitis, bronchitis, wheezing, orthopnea, painful respiration, epistaxis, laryngitis, sinusitis, pharyngeal pain, pharyngitis, rhinitis, rhinorrhea.
Skin: Urticaria, alopecia, herpes zoster, photosensitivity, skin lesions, skin infections, pemphigus, erythema, flushing, diaphoresis, cutaneous pseudolymphoma, psoriasis.. Other severe skin reactions have been reported rarely, including toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome; causal relationship has not been established.
Special Senses: Visual loss, diplopia, blurred vision, tinnitus, photophobia, taste disturbances.
Urogenital System: Acute renal failure, oliguria, anuria, uremia, progressive azotemia, renal dysfunction (see PRECAUTIONS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ), pyelonephritis, dysuria, urinary tract infection, breast pain.
Miscellaneous: A symptom complex has been reported which may include a positive ANA, an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, arthralgia/arthritis, myalgia, fever, vasculitis, eosinophilia and leukocytosis. Rash, photosensitivity or other dermatological manifestations may occur alone or in combination with these symptoms.
Angioedema: Angioedema has been reported in patients receiving lisinopril (0.1%) with an incidence higher in Black than in non-Black patients. Angioedema associated with laryngeal edema may be fatal. If angioedema of the face, extremities, lips, tongue, glottis and/or larynx occurs, treatment with lisinopril should be discontinued and appropriate therapy instituted immediately (See WARNINGS).
In rare cases, intestinal angioedema has been reported in post marketing experience.
Hypotension: In hypertensive patients, hypotension occurred in 1.2% and syncope occurred in 0.1% of patients with an incidence higher in Black than in non-Black patients. Hypotension or syncope was a cause of discontinuation of therapy in 0.5% of hypertensive patients. In patients with heart failure, hypotension occurred in 5.3% and syncope occurred in 1.8% of patients. These adverse experiences were possibly dose-related (see above data from ATLAS Trial) and caused discontinuation of therapy in 1.8% of these patients in the symptomatic trials. In patients treated with lisinopril for six weeks after acute myocardial infarction, hypotension (systolic blood pressure (100 mmHg) resulted in discontinuation of therapy in 9.7% of the patients. (See WARNINGS).
Cough: See PRECAUTIONS, Cough
Pediatric Patients: No relevant differences between the adverse experience profile for pediatric patients and that previously reported for adult patients were identified.