SUPERIOR: arrhythmia recurrence after ablation 18% on sacubitril/valsartan vs 28.3% on valsartan

Results of the SUPERIOR trial were presented on 6 November 2026 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Chicago, according to lomazoma.com. The randomized study compared a combination of sacubitril/valsartan with valsartan monotherapy in older patients with hypertension after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. After 12 months, documented recurrence of atrial arrhythmias was 18% in the combination group and 28.3% in the valsartan group lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗.

Study design and participants

The trial enrolled 320 adults from China aged at least 55 years. The mean age of the cohort was 68 years, and women made up 41.2%. About 66.6% of participants had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

All participants underwent catheter ablation between February 2023 and January 2025. One group then received sacubitril/valsartan at 100 mg once daily. The control group received valsartan alone at 80 mg once daily.

The primary endpoint was the occurrence of documented atrial tachyarrhythmias during a 12-month follow-up lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗.

Blood pressure and limitations

Both regimens lowered blood pressure to a similar degree. Systolic pressure fell by about 10 mm Hg in each group, and 24-hour ambulatory monitoring showed no significant difference between them. The better rhythm stability in the combination group therefore appeared without a substantially different overall reduction in blood pressure.

The results are preliminary. They were presented as a conference abstract and have not yet passed regular peer review.

The study documents also note methodological limitations. The trial was open-label, with intermittent rhythm monitoring. The cohort was limited to older hypertensive patients in China, so applicability to other patient groups requires further clinical verification lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗.