Safety of Vericiguat in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective This study aimed to investigate the safety of vericiguat in patients with coronary artery disease. Methods We conducted a comprehensive literature review of the PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane Library databases up to 27 March 2024. We included studies that compared vericiguat with placebo in patients with coronary artery disease. Clinical data were extracted, and adverse events were analyzed using Review Manager software (version 5.4) after conducting a quality assessment of the enrolled studies. Results Three randomized controlled trials involving 151 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with the placebo group, vericiguat treatment resulted in a decrease in systolic blood pressure by 1.4-10 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 0.4-6 mmHg, along with an increase in heart rate by 1.8-7 bpm, all of which are clinically insignificant. Vericiguat treatment demonstrated no significant serious adverse events [odds ratio (OR) = 1.97; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.39-9.91; P = 0.41]. However, a significant difference in adverse events between the two groups was noted (OR = 4.04; 95% CI = 2.17-7.52; P < 0.001). Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that vericiguat is a safe drug for use in patients with coronary artery disease; however, further clinical trials are needed to validate these findings.