Summary
Carvedilol has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Heart Failure would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Heart Failure. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Carvedilol to Heart Failure: 4 have completed; 4 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 4 (NCT00374465). The largest enrolment is 121 participants (NCT01178528). Registration activity spans 2005 to 2021. The literature layer holds 14 publications for this pair: 5 Cochrane reviews, 3 meta-analyses, 1 randomised controlled trial publication and 5 clinical trial publications. Publication years run from 2022 to 2026. Because at least one synthesis-level source exists (systematic review, meta-analysis or Cochrane review), this pair has been assessed beyond single studies, although the synthesis may concern a different indication.
The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Heart Failure ranks 616 candidate therapeutics from Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and PubMed; only a minority carry direct clinical evidence, and this page covers one of those. Spontaneous remission context recorded for the condition: Annual mortality ~22% on standard care; only 5-11% of HFrEF patients achieve normalisation of ejection fraction (HFrecEF) with GDMT; HFpEF has no disease-modifying therapy.
Evidence table
| Evidence tier | A · Strong |
|---|---|
| Evidence score | 73.0 (trials 23.0, literature 30.0, tier 15, approved bonus 5.0) |
| Registered trials | 8 total: 0 recruiting, 0 active / not yet recruiting, 4 completed, 4 other |
| Linked publications | 14 (5 Cochrane reviews, 5 clinical trial publications, 3 meta-analyses, 1 randomised controlled trial publication) |
| Agent type | Drug (Small molecule) |
| Development stage (any indication) | Approved |
| Mechanism / class | inhibitor; inhibitor |
| Data sources | DGIdb |
| Linked via biomarker / target | ADRB3 |
How the evidence score is calculated
- Each registered trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5). The trial component is capped at 30.
- Each literature item scores by design (Cochrane review 5, meta-analysis 4, systematic review 3, RCT 3, clinical trial publication 2, curated reference 1.5, other PubMed record 1). The literature component is capped at 30.
- The existing evidence tier adds 15 (A / Strong), 10 (B / Moderate), 5 (C / Preliminary) or 0 (D / Anecdotal).
- Agents approved for any indication (max clinical phase 4) add 5, because an approved agent has an established safety profile that lowers the barrier to repurposing trials.
- The score ranks what has been studied, not what works. It does not read effect sizes or directions of effect.
Registered clinical trials
| NCT ID | Title | Status | Phase | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT00924833 | Effects of Nebivolol Versus Carvedilol on Cardiopulmonary Function at High Altitude in Healthy Subjects. 2006 | completed | Phase 4 | 27 |
| NCT04757584 | Pilot Deprescribing N-of-1 Trials for Beta-blockers in HFpEF 2021 | completed | Phase 4 | 9 |
| NCT00402376 | Evaluation of Myocardial Improvement in Patients Supported by Ventricular Assist Device Under Optimal Pharmacological Therapy 2007 | terminated | Phase 4 | 20 |
| NCT00374465 | Therapy With Verapamil or Carvedilol in Chronic Heart Failure 2006 | status unknown | Phase 4 | 100 |
| NCT01178528 | Heart Rate Reduction in Heart Failure 2009 | completed | Phase 3 | 121 |
| NCT00004854 | The Safety and Efficacy of Adjunct Carvedilol in Children With Moderate Heart Failure | completed | Phase 1 | — |
| NCT00249067 | Retrospective Evaluation of Carvedilol Versus Captopril in CHF Patients 2005 | terminated | Not applicable | 50 |
| NCT01723371 | Beta Blockers for Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Children 2012 | withdrawn | PHASE1, PHASE2 | — |
Published literature
- Clinical trial publication Impaired myocardial work in heart failure with improved ejection fraction: A post hoc analysis from the CATHEDRAL-HF trialBelfort DSP, Furlan DAG, Cafezeiro CRF et al. · International journal of cardiology · 2026 · PMID 41455558
- Cochrane review Pharmacological and interventional strategies for chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy: a systematic review of clinical outcomesRamírez-Olivencia G, Muñoz Nieto C, Fernández Tomás M et al. · Revista clinica espanola · 2026 · PMID 41997482
- Clinical trial publication Contemporary Oral Medication Use and Frequency in Patients with Transthyretin Amyloid CardiomyopathyDasgupta N, Poulsen SH, Emdin M et al. · American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2025 · PMID 40750720
- Cochrane review Is Carvedilol Effective in Preventing and Modulating Concentric Cardiac Remodelling? A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysesWiyono AV, Ardinal AP · Cardiovascular therapeutics · 2025 · PMID 41194854
- Cochrane review Minimization or withdrawal of oral pharmacotherapy in chronic heart failure patients with improved myocardial function: A systematic reviewLuo Y, Xiao W, Sener YZ et al. · European journal of heart failure · 2025 · PMID 40254722
- Clinical trial publication Effect of carvedilol versus placebo on cardiac function in anthracycline-exposed survivors of childhood cancer (PREVENT-HF): a randomised, controlled, phase 2b trialArmenian SH, Hudson MM, Lindenfeld L et al. · The Lancet. Oncology · 2024 · PMID 38215764
- Clinical trial publication Ivabradine could not decrease mitral regurgitation triggered atrial fibrosis and fibrillation compared with carvedilolLee WC, Lin YW, Shih JY et al. · ESC heart failure · 2024 · PMID 37963437
- Cochrane review Predictors of cardiac disease in duchenne muscular dystrophy: a systematic review and evidence gradingLandfeldt E, Alemán A, Abner S et al. · Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2024 · PMID 39342355
- Meta-analysis Beta-blocker therapy in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (B-HFpEF): A systematic review and meta-analysisKaddoura R, Madurasinghe V, Chapra A et al. · Current problems in cardiology · 2024 · PMID 38184132
- Clinical trial publication Transportability of two heart failure trials to a disease registry using individual patient dataWei L, Phillippo DM, Shah A et al. · Journal of clinical epidemiology · 2023 · PMID 37659583
- Cochrane review Comparative Efficacy of Different Drugs for the Treatment of Dilated Cardiomyopathy: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysisTong X, Shen L, Zhou X et al. · Drugs in R&D · 2023 · PMID 37556093
- Randomized controlled trial Effects of Long-Term Carvedilol Therapy in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction and Mildly Reduced Left Ventricular Ejection FractionAmano M, Izumi C, Watanabe H et al. · The American journal of cardiology · 2023 · PMID 37245250
- Meta-analysis Beta-Blockers for Primary Prevention of Anthracycline-Induced Cardiac Toxicity: An Updated Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical TrialsAttar A, Behnagh AK, Hosseini M et al. · Cardiovascular therapeutics · 2022 · PMID 36687509
- Meta-analysis Efficacy of medication therapy for patients with chronic kidney disease and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a systematic review and meta-analysisYang L, Ye N, Bian W et al. · International urology and nephrology · 2022 · PMID 34669107
Mechanism and notes
Recorded mechanism or class: inhibitor; inhibitor.
OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target ADRB3. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Carvedilol approved for Heart Failure?
Carvedilol has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Heart Failure would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Heart Failure. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.
Is Carvedilol in clinical trials for Heart Failure?
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Carvedilol to Heart Failure: 4 have completed; 4 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 4 (NCT00374465). The largest enrolment is 121 participants (NCT01178528). Registration activity spans 2005 to 2021.
What does the evidence show for Carvedilol in Heart Failure?
Carvedilol has both completed registered trials and synthesis-level publications linked to Heart Failure. That is the strongest profile in this database, but the summaries here do not extract effect sizes, so read the linked reviews for direction and magnitude of benefit. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target ADRB3. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Cite this page
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.