Results of EMPEROR-Reduced study: effect of empagliflozin on heart failure in patients with reduced ejection fraction

Overview

The studies of cardiovascular safety with SGLT2 inhibitors have repeatedly shown that these drugs reduce the number of hospitalizations for heart failure (HF) which was defined as a secondary outcome in the above-mentioned studies. The EMPEROR-Reduced study sought to answer the question whether SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin reduces the primary outcome (cardiovascular mortality or hospitalization for HF) in both diabetic and non-dia­betic patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Add-on treatment with empagliflozin to previous standard HF treatment resulted in a significant 25 % reduction in the primary outcome. The incidence of hospitaliza­tions for HF was significantly reduced by 30 %. The results of the EMPEROR-Reduced study replicated the previously published results of a similarly designed study with dapagliflozin (DAPA-HF). A meta-analysis of these studies showed that SGLT2 inhibitors also significantly reduced cardiovascular and total mortality in patients with HFrEF. Therefore, SGLT2 inhibitors should be a standard part of HFrEF treatment together with beta-blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists and angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors.

Keywords:

heart failure – type 2 diabetes mellitus – SGLT2 inhibitors – empagliflozin