EMPEROR-REDUCED reigns while EMPERIAL whimpers

Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitors and the Cardiovascular System: Current Knowledge and Future Expectations

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a well-recognized clinical entity and reflects a complex relationship between metabolic substrates and myocardial function. Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are antidiabetic agents that are found to exert multiple cardioprotective effects. Large clinical trials showed their beneficial effects on patients with heart failure, reducing the rates of rehospitalizations and improving kidney function. The aim of this review is to summarize the latest evidence in the literature regarding the multiple effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on patients across the spectrum of cardiovascular diseases.

Physiology of exercise and heart failure treatments: cardiopulmonary exercise testing as a tool for choosing the optimal therapeutic strategy

In the last decades, the pharmacological treatment of heart failure (HF) become more complex due to the availability of new highly effective drugs. Although the cardiovascular effects of HF therapies have been extensively described, less known are their effects on cardiopulmonary function considered as a whole, both at rest and in response to exercise. This is a 'holistic' approach to disease treatment that can be accurately evaluated by a cardiopulmonary exercise test. The aim of this paper is to assess the main differences in the effects of different drugs [angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitors, Angiotensin II receptor blockers, β-blockers, Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors, renal sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors, iron supplementation] on cardiopulmonary function in patients with HF, both at rest and during exercise, and to understand how these differences can be taken into account when choosing the most appropriate treatment protocol for each individual patient leading to a precision medicine approach.

Dapagliflozin Impact on the Exercise Capacity of Non-Diabetic Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction Patients

Background: Dapagliflozin has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in Heart Failure with reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF), but its impact on exercise capacity of non-diabetic HF outpatients is unknown. Methods: Adult non-diabetic HF patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <50% were randomized 1:1 to receive dapagliflozin 10 mg or to continue with HF medication. Patients underwent an initial evaluation which was repeated after 6 months. The variation of several clinical parameters was compared, with the primary endpoint being the 6 month peak oxygen uptake (pVO2) variation. Results: A total of 40 patients were included (mean age 61 ± 13 years, 82.5% male, mean LVEF 34 ± 5%), half being randomized to dapagliflozin, with no significant baseline differences between groups. The reported drug compliance was 100%, with no major safety events. No statistically significant difference in HF events was found (p = 0.609). There was a 24% reduction in the number of patients in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III in the treatment group as opposed to a 15.8% increase in the control group (p = 0.004). Patients under dapagliflozin had a greater improvement in pVO2 (3.1 vs. 0.1 mL/kg/min, p = 0.030) and a greater reduction in NT-proBNP levels (−217.6 vs. 650.3 pg/mL, p = 0.007). Conclusion: Dapagliflozin was associated with a significant improvement in cardiopulmonary fitness at 6 months follow-up in non-diabetic HFrEF patients.

SGLT2 Inhibitors and Their Mode of Action in Heart Failure-Has the Mystery Been Unravelled?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are new drugs for patients with heart failure (HF) irrespective of diabetes. However, the mechanisms of SGLT2i in HF remain elusive. This article discusses the current clinical evidence for using SGLT2i in different types of heart failure and provides an overview about the possible underlying mechanisms.

RECENT FINDINGS

Clinical and basic data strongly support and extend the use of SGLT2i in HF. Improvement of conventional secondary risk factors is unlikely to explain the prognostic benefits of these drugs in HF. However, different multidirectional mechanisms of SGLT2i could improve HF status including volume regulation, cardiorenal mechanisms, metabolic effects, improved cardiac remodelling, direct effects on cardiac contractility and ion-homeostasis, reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress as well as an impact on autophagy and adipokines. Further translational studies are needed to determine the mechanisms of SGLT2i in HF. However, basic and clinical evidence encourage the use of SGLT2i in HFrEF and possibly HFpEF.

Therapie der diastolischen Herzinsuffizienz (HFpEF/HFmrEF): Lichtstreifen am Horizont?

Eine evidenzbasierte medikamentöse Therapie der diastolischen Herzinsuffizienz (HFpEF/HFmrEF) ist bislang, im Gegensatz zur systolischen Herzinsuffizienz (HFrEF), nicht etabliert. Die ESC-Leitlinien 2016 empfehlen als einzige Substanzklasse Diuretika zur Symptomverbesserung. Betablocker, ACE-Hemmer, Angiotensin-Rezeptor-Blocker zeigen keinen belegten Nutzen im Vergleich zu Placebo. Mit Mineralokortikoid-Rezeptor-Antagonisten (MRA), Angiotensin-Rezeptor-Neprilysin-Inhibitor (ARNI)und SGLT2-Inhibitoren stehen 3 unterschiedliche Wirkmechanismen zur Verfügung, die bei HFpEF/HFmrEF bezüglich Letalität und Morbidität in randomisierten kontrollierten Studien geprüft wurden oder werden. Die bisherigen Ergebnisse sind ambivalent, in einigen Aspekten aber ermutigend. Spironolacton wird im Focused Update 2017 der ACC/AHA-Leitlinie zur Symptomverbesserung bei HFpEF zurückhaltend empfohlen (IIb B). Die FDA hat im Januar 2021 Sacubitril/Valsartan zur Therapie der HFpEF/HFmrEF (EF unterhalb des Normalbereichs) zugelassen. Für die Therapie der ATTR-Amyloidose als seltene Ursache einer schweren Compliancestörung sind extrem kostenintensive Oligonukleotid-Substanzen verfügbar.