Heart failure & cardiomyopathies

Finerenone versus spironolactone in heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction: a real-world study

ESC Heart FailPublished retrospective active-comparator, new-user cohort study

Main finding · All-cause mortality or heart failure exacerbationResult — go to the resultAdjusted hazard ratio 0.72 95% CI 0.64–0.82

Authors' conclusion

Finerenone initiation was associated with lower 12-month clinical event and hyperkalaemia risks than spironolactone initiation. These observational associations should be considered hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in randomised head-to-head trials.

Study context

Population
Adults of both sexes with HFmrEF/HFpEF initiating finerenone or spironolactone, 9 July 2021 to 31 March 2025patients in each group after matching
Participants
1,417 adults
Exposure
Finerenone versus spironolactone initiation
  • Finerenonen = 1,417
  • Spironolactonen = 1,417reference
Outcome
All-cause mortality or heart failure exacerbation
Follow-up
12 months
Methodological detailspropensity score matched 1:1, TriNetX Network
  • Propensity score matched 1:1
  • TriNetX Network

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

Adjusted hazard ratio

0.72

95% CI 0.64–0.82

P < 0.001

By group

Finerenonevs Spironolactone
aHR 0.72 (95% CI 0.64–0.82); P < 0.001

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Secondary outcomes

OutcomeaHR (95% CI)
All-cause mortality0.67 (0.51–0.87)
Heart failure exacerbation0.73 (0.64–0.83)
All-cause hospitalisation0.83 (0.76–0.91)

Acute myocardial infarction

Lower risk not observed

Safety

OutcomeFinerenoneSpironolactoneRisk ratio (95% CI)
Hyperkalaemia17.9%22.8%0.79 (0.68–0.91)

Acute kidney injury

Only a borderline difference

Original publication

Finerenone versus spironolactone in heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction: a real-world study. ESC Heart Fail. Published 30 September 2026. doi:10.1093/eschf/xvag246

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