Results from Optimizing Beta-Blocker Dosage in Female Patients Using the Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator (OPT-BB Women) were presented at ESC-HF 2026
May 12, 2026 – CHELMSFORD, MASS. – ZOLL®, an Asahi Kasei company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, announced that insights from the LifeVest® wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) helped physicians achieve better heart rate control in female patients – an indicator of more rapid beta-blocker optimization and an outcome associated with improved survival. These findings come from the Optimizing Beta‑Blocker Dosage in Female Patients Using the Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator (OPT‑BB Women) study.1
Clinical guidelines recommend titration of beta-blockers to improve survival in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), with heart rate serving as a measure of treatment effectiveness. However, women with newly diagnosed HFrEF are less likely than men to achieve optimal beta-blocker dosing,2 and heart rate control is often inadequate during the therapy optimization period.
LifeVest is designed to provide heart rate alerts and heart rate trends data, allowing clinicians to make informed decisions about beta-blocker titration, with the goal of achieving quicker optimization during a period of heightened risk. Heart rate and additional biometric data are captured and displayed on the ZOLL Patient Management (ZPM) Network to provide clinicians using ZPM the opportunity to remotely manage patients. Results from the OPT-BB Women study suggest that LifeVest insights may be a useful option for supporting beta-blocker optimization during this period of high sudden cardiac death (SCD) risk.
“Heart rate control is adequate in only about half of the women (57%), compared with 64% of men at the end of a therapy optimization period,1” said Dr. Valentina Kutyifa, MD, PhD, Tenured Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester Medicine, and Director of the Clinical Trials Enrolling Unit, Cardiology Division, Global Principal Investigator of the study. “This was the first study assessing the utility of using the WCD in women with newly diagnosed HFrEF to optimize beta-blocker dosage and we have shown a remarkable improvement in HR control from diagnosis, with 80% of the women now being adequately treated.”
Dr. Kutyifa added, “Women with heart failure and cardiomyopathy are underrepresented in studies, and information related to optimizing guideline directed medical therapy (GDMT) is very limited. The OPT-BB study fills an important knowledge gap that will affect clinical practice, providing evidence on effective management of beta-blocker therapy optimization with LifeVest in women with newly diagnosed cardiomyopathy.”
Women using LifeVest are also protected from SCD risk, which remains high during the early months of GDMT.
The recent SCD-PROTECT study confirms that early SCD risk in HFrEF patients remains high, despite widespread use of GDMT.3 Other studies demonstrate that it can take more than three months to fully optimize four-pillar GDMT, including beta-blockers – underscoring the importance of protection and monitoring during this vulnerable period.4,5
In SCD-PROTECT, the LifeVest WCD delivered 23.4+ hour/day median compliance,3 validating that LifeVest ranks #1 in patient compliance this decade in real-world and peer-reviewed data.6,7
LifeVest has protected more than 400,000 women over the past 20+ years8 and is the most used, studied, and proven wearable defibrillator. Learn more about the category-leading innovations of LifeVest at LifeVestInnovation.com.
ZOLL, an Asahi Kasei company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and cardiac monitoring, circulation enhancement and CPR feedback, supersaturated oxygen therapy, data management, ventilation, therapeutic temperature management, and sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, as well as lay rescuers, improve patient outcomes in critical cardiopulmonary conditions. For more information, visit www.zoll.com.
The Asahi Kasei Group contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber businesses, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through the proactive transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With 50,000 employees worldwide, the company contributes to a sustainable society by providing solutions to the world's challenges through its three business sectors of Healthcare, Homes, and Material. Its healthcare operations include devices and systems for critical care, products and services for the manufacture of biotherapeutics, and a growing portfolio of specialty pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit www.asahi-kasei.com.
Asahi Kasei is also dedicated to sustainability initiatives and is contributing to reaching a carbon neutral society by 2050. To learn more, visit www.asahi-kasei.com/sustainability/.
1 Kutyifa, Valentina, et. al. “Optimizing beta-blocker dosage in female patients using the wearable cardioverter defibrillator: the OPT-BB Women interventional study.” Poster presented at Heart Failure 2026, May 2026; Barcelona, Spain.
2 Kutyifa, Valentina, et al. "Sex differences in achieving guideline-recommended heart rate control among a large sample of patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest." Heart rhythm O2 5.5 (2024): 274-280.
3 David Duncker, Eloi Marijon, Marco Metra, et al. Sudden cardiac death in newly diagnosed non-ischaemic or ischaemic cardiomyopathy assessed with a wearable cardioverter-defibrillator: the German nationwide SCD-PROTECT study, European Heart Journal, 2025;ehaf668, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf668
4 MERIT-HF Study Group. Effect of metoprolol CR/XL in chronic heart failure: Metoprolol CR/XL Randomized Intervention Trial in Congestive Heart Failure (MERIT-HF). Lancet. 1999;353(9169):2001–2007.
5 Pitt B et al. The effect of spironolactone on morbidity and mortality in patients with severe heart failure. N Engl J Med. 1999;341(10):709–717.
6 Garcia R, Combes N, Defaye P, et al. Wearable cardioverter-defibrillator in patients with a transient risk of sudden cardiac death: the WEARIT-France cohort study. EP Europace. 2020;23(1):73-81. doi:10.1093/europace/euaa268
7 Data on file, 90d0258_a01. 2021 Commercial Compliance Analysis
8 Data on file, 20C1451_revb. Female LifeVest Patient Population March 2026.
Copyright © 2026 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. ZOLL is a registered trademark of ZOLL Medical Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Asahi Kasei is a registered trademark of Asahi Kasei Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.