Heart Failure End Points in Cardiovascular Outcome Trials of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Critical Evaluation of Clinical and Regulatory Issues

The Danish-Norwegian randomized trial on beta-blocker therapy after myocardial infarction: Design, rationale, and baseline characteristics

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The evidence for beta-blocker therapy after myocardial infarction (MI) is randomized trials conducted more than 30 years ago, and the continued efficacy has been questioned.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The ongoing Danish (DANBLOCK) and Norwegian (BETAMI) randomized beta-blocker trials are joined to evaluate the effectiveness and risks of long-term beta-blocker therapy after MI. Patients with normal or mildly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF ≥ 40%) will be randomized to open-label treatment with beta-blockers or no such therapy. The event-driven trial will randomize ∼5700 patients and continue until 950 primary endpoints have occurred. As of July 2023, 5228 patients have been randomized. Of the first 4000 patients randomized, median age was 62 years, 79% were men, 48% had a ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), and 84% had a normal LVEF. The primary endpoint is a composite of adjudicated recurrent MI, incident heart failure (HF), coronary revascularization, ischaemic stroke, all-cause mortality, malignant ventricular arrhythmia, or resuscitated cardiac arrest. The primary safety endpoint includes a composite of recurrent MI, HF, all-cause mortality, malignant ventricular arrhythmia, or resuscitated cardiac arrest 30 days after randomization. Secondary endpoints include each of the components of the primary endpoint, patient-reported outcomes, and other clinical outcomes linked to beta-blocker therapy. The primary analysis will be conducted according to the intention-to-treat principle using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. End of follow-up is expected in December 2024.

CONCLUSION

The combined BETAMI-DANBLOCK trial will have the potential to affect current clinical practice for beta-blocker therapy in patients with normal or mildly reduced LVEF after MI.

Empagliflozin after Acute Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND

Empagliflozin improves cardiovascular outcomes in patients with heart failure, patients with type 2 diabetes who are at high cardiovascular risk, and patients with chronic kidney disease. The safety and efficacy of empagliflozin in patients who have had acute myocardial infarction are unknown.

METHODS

In this event-driven, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, patients who had been hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction and were at risk for heart failure to receive empagliflozin at a dose of 10 mg daily or placebo in addition to standard care within 14 days after admission. The primary end point was a composite of hospitalization for heart failure or death from any cause as assessed in a time-to-first-event analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 3260 patients were assigned to receive empagliflozin and 3262 to receive placebo. During a median follow-up of 17.9 months, a first hospitalization for heart failure or death from any cause occurred in 267 patients (8.2%) in the empagliflozin group and in 298 patients (9.1%) in the placebo group, with incidence rates of 5.9 and 6.6 events, respectively, per 100 patient-years (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76 to 1.06; P = 0.21). With respect to the individual components of the primary end point, a first hospitalization for heart failure occurred in 118 patients (3.6%) in the empagliflozin group and in 153 patients (4.7%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.98), and death from any cause occurred in 169 (5.2%) and 178 (5.5%), respectively (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.78 to 1.19). Adverse events were consistent with the known safety profile of empagliflozin and were similar in the two trial groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients at increased risk for heart failure after acute myocardial infarction, treatment with empagliflozin did not lead to a significantly lower risk of a first hospitalization for heart failure or death from any cause than placebo. (Funded by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly; EMPACT-MI ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04509674.).

Ferroptosis, necroptosis and cuproptosis: Novel forms of regulated cell death in diabetic cardiomyopathy

Diabetes is a common chronic metabolic disease, and its incidence continues to increase year after year. Diabetic patients mainly die from various complications, with the most common being diabetic cardiomyopathy. However, the detection rate of diabetic cardiomyopathy is low in clinical practice, and targeted treatment is lacking. Recently, a large number of studies have confirmed that myocardial cell death in diabetic cardiomyopathy involves pyroptosis, apoptosis, necrosis, ferroptosis, necroptosis, cuproptosis, cellular burial, and other processes. Most importantly, numerous animal studies have shown that the onset and progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy can be mitigated by inhibiting these regulatory cell death processes, such as by utilizing inhibitors, chelators, or genetic manipulation. Therefore, we review the role of ferroptosis, necroptosis, and cuproptosis, three novel forms of cell death in diabetic cardiomyopathy, searching for possible targets, and analyzing the corresponding therapeutic approaches to these targets.

Opportunities and challenges in heart rhythm research: Rationale and development of an electrophysiology collaboratory

There are many challenges in the current landscape of electrophysiology (EP) clinical and translational research, including increasing costs and complexity, competing demands, regulatory requirements, and challenges with study implementation. This review seeks to broadly discuss the state of EP research, including challenges and opportunities. Included here are results from a Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) Research Committee member survey detailing HRS members' perspectives regarding both barriers to clinical and translational research and opportunities to address these challenges. We also provide stakeholder perspectives on barriers and opportunities for future EP research, including input from representatives of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, industry, and research funding institutions that participated in a Research Collaboratory Summit convened by HRS. This review further summarizes the experiences of the heart failure and heart valve communities and how they have approached similar challenges in their own fields. We then explore potential solutions, including various models of research ecosystems designed to identify research challenges and to coordinate ways to address them in a collaborative fashion in order to optimize innovation, increase efficiency of evidence generation, and advance the development of new therapeutic products. The objectives of the proposed collaborative cardiac EP research community are to encourage and support scientific discourse, research efficiency, and evidence generation by exploring collaborative and equitable solutions in which stakeholders within the EP community can interact to address knowledge gaps, innovate, and advance new therapies.

Biomarkers for the prediction of heart failure and cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes: a position statement from the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology

Knowledge on risk predictors of incident heart failure (HF) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is crucial given the frequent coexistence of the two conditions and the fact that T2D doubles the risk of incident HF. In addition, HF is increasingly being recognized as an important endpoint in trials in T2D. On the other hand, the diagnostic and prognostic performance of established cardiovascular biomarkers may be modified by the presence of T2D. The present position paper, derived by an expert panel workshop organized by the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology, summarizes the current knowledge and gaps in evidence regarding the use of a series of different biomarkers, reflecting various pathogenic pathways, for the prediction of incident HF and cardiovascular events in patients with T2D and in those with established HF and T2D.

The crystallin alpha B (HSPB5)-tripartite motif containing 33 (TRIM33) axis mediates myocardial fibrosis induced by angiotensinogen II through transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β1)-Smad3/4 signaling

Myocardial fibrosis, a common pathological manifestation of cardiac remodeling (CR), often leads to heart failure (HF) and even death. The underlying molecular mechanism of the role of TRIM33 in Ang II–induced myocardial fibrosis is not fully understood. We found that TRIM33 was specifically upregulated in CFs and myocardial tissue after Ang II stimulation. Adult mice induced by Ang II were used as in vivo models, and Ang II–induced neonatal mouse primary cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) were used as in vitro models. The level of CF fibrosis in vitro was assessed by CF proliferation, migration, activation and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis. In addition, Masson staining, the heart weight/body weight (HW/BW) ratio and echocardiography were used to evaluate the in vivo effect of TRIM33. TRIM33 expression was specifically upregulated in CFs and myocardial tissue after Ang II stimulation. In in vitro experiments, we found that TRIM33 knockdown promoted Ang II–induced CF proliferation, while TRIM33 overexpression weakened Ang II–induced CF proliferation, migration, activation and collagen synthesis. Mechanistically, we showed that TRIM33, negatively regulated by HSPB5, mediated its antifibrotic effect by inhibiting the activation of TGF-β1 and its downstream genes, Smad3 and Smad4. Finally, TRIM33 overexpression suppressed fibrosis and promoted cardiac repair and functional recovery in Ang II–induced mice. Our results clearly establish that TRIM33 limits cardiac fibrosis by hindering CF proliferation, migration, activation and collagen synthesis. Enhancing these beneficial functions of TRIM33 by a targeting vector might be a novel therapeutic strategy for CR.

Association of gene polymorphisms in FBN1 and TGF-β signaling with the susceptibility and prognostic outcomes of Stanford type B aortic dissection

Background

This study is aimed at investigating the association of Fibrillin-1 (FBN1) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling-related gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility of Stanford type B aortic dissection (AD) and its clinical prognostic outcomes.

Methods

Five single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) (FBN1rs 145233125, rs201170905, rs11070646, TGFB1rs1800469, and TGFB2rs900) were analyzed in patients with Stanford type B AD (164) and healthy controls (317). Gene–gene and gene–environment interactions were assessed by generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction. A 4-year follow-up was performed for all AD patients.

Results

G carriers of FBN1 rs201170905 and TGFB1 rs1800469 have an increased risk of Stanford type B AD. The interaction of FBN1, TGFB1, TGFB2 and environmental promoted to the increased risk of type B AD (cross-validation consistency = 10/10, P = 0.001). Dominant models of FBN1rs145233125 TC + CC genotype (P = 0.028), FBN1 rs201170905 AG + GG (P = 0.047) and TGFB1 rs1800469 AG + GG (P = 0.052) were associated with an increased risk of death of Stanford type B AD. The recessive model of FBN1 rs145233125 CC genotype (P < 0.001), FBN1rs201170905 GG (P < 0.001), TGFB1 rs1800469 AG + GG genotype (P = 0.011) was associated with an increased risk of recurrence of chest pain in Stanford type B AD.

Conclusions

The interactions of gene–gene and gene–environment are related with the risk of Stanford type B AD. C carriers of rs145233125, G carriers of rs201170905 and G carriers of rs1800469 may be the poor clinical outcome indicators of mortality and recurrent chest pain in Stanford type B AD.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12920-022-01213-z.

Attenuation of Adverse Postinfarction Left Ventricular Remodeling with Empagliflozin Enhances Mitochondria-Linked Cellular Energetics and Mitochondrial Biogenesis

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors such as empagliflozin are known to reduce the risk of hospitalizations related to heart failure irrespective of diabetic state. Meanwhile, adverse cardiac remodeling remains the leading cause of heart failure and death in the USA. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that are responsible for the beneficial effects of SGLT2 inhibitors is of the utmost relevance and importance. Our previous work illustrated a connection between adverse cardiac remodeling and the regulation of mitochondrial turnover and cellular energetics using a short-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP1Ra). Here, we sought to determine if the mechanism of the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin (EMPA) in ameliorating adverse remodeling was similar and/or to identify what differences exist, if any. To this end, we administered permanent coronary artery ligation to induce adverse remodeling in wild-type and Parkin knockout mice and examined the progression of adverse cardiac remodeling with or without EMPA treatment over time. Like GLP1Ra, we found that EMPA affords a robust attenuation of PCAL-induced adverse remodeling. Interestingly, unlike the GLP1Ra, EMPA does not require Parkin to improve/maintain mitochondria-related cellular energetics and afford its benefits against developing adverse remodeling. These findings suggests that further investigation of EMPA is warranted as a potential path for developing therapy against adverse cardiac remodeling for patients that may have Parkin and/or mitophagy-related deficiencies.

New Antidiabetes Medications and Their Cardiovascular and Renal Benefits

After 12 years of rigorous cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs), sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) emerged as new therapeutic options for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus to reduce the risk of heart disease. SGLT2i additionally cause a reduction in heart failure and renal events in patients both with and without diabetes. This article reviews the major CVOTs that support the use of these agents, describes the mechanisms of action that lead to their broad cardiorenal benefits, explains current guidelines, and offers practical clinical advice to initiate and monitor treatment with these agents.

Cardiovascular Events, Acute Hospitalizations, and Mortality in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Who Initiate Empagliflozin Versus Liraglutide: A Comparative Effectiveness Study

Background

In cardiovascular outcome trials, the sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor empagliflozin and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) receptor agonist liraglutide caused similar reductions in major adverse cardiac events (MACE). We compared clinical outcomes in routine clinical care.

Methods and Results

EMPLACE (Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes, and Mortality in Danish Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Who Initiate Empagliflozin Versus GLP‐1RA: A Danish Nationwide Comparative Effectiveness Study) is an ongoing nationwide population‐based comparative effectiveness cohort study in Denmark. For the present study, we included 14 498 new users of empagliflozin and 12 706 new users of liraglutide, 2015 to 2018. Co‐primary outcomes were expanded major adverse cardiac events (stroke, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, coronary revascularization, hospitalization for heart failure [HHF], or all‐cause death); HHF or all‐cause death; and first HHF or first initiation of loop‐diuretic therapy. Secondary outcomes included all‐cause hospitalization or death. We applied propensity score balancing and Cox regression to compute adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) in on‐treatment (OT) and intention‐to‐treat (ITT) analyses. Cohorts were well balanced at baseline (median age 61 years, 59% men, diabetes mellitus duration 6.6 years, 30% with preexisting cardiovascular disease). During mean follow‐up of 1.1 years in OT and 1.5 years in ITT analyses, empagliflozin versus liraglutide was associated with a similar rate of expanded major adverse cardiac events (OT aHR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.91–1.14; ITT aHR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.96–1.17), and HHF or all‐cause death (OT aHR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.85–1.11; ITT aHR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.91–1.14); and a decreased rate of a first incident HHF or loop‐diuretic initiation (OT aHR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.68–0.94; ITT aHR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.76–1.00), and of all‐cause hospitalization or death (OT aHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89–0.98; ITT aHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.90–0.97).

Conclusions

Empagliflozin and liraglutide initiators had comparable rates of expanded major adverse cardiac events, and HHF or all‐cause death, whereas empagliflozin initiators had a lower rate of a first HHF or loop‐diuretic initiation.

Heart Failure and Diabetes Mellitus: Biomarkers in Risk Stratification and Prognostication

Heart failure (HF) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a synergistic effect on cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in patients with established CV disease (CVD). The aim of this review is to summarize the knowledge regarding the discriminative abilities of conventional and novel biomarkers in T2DM patients with established HF or at higher risk of developing HF. While conventional biomarkers, such as natriuretic peptides and high-sensitivity troponins demonstrate high predictive ability in HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), this is not the case for HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). HFpEF is a heterogeneous disease with a high variability of CVD and conventional risk factors including T2DM, hypertension, renal disease, older age, and female sex; therefore, the extrapolation of predictive abilities of traditional biomarkers on this population is constrained. New biomarker-based approaches are disputed to be sufficient for improving risk stratification and the prediction of poor clinical outcomes in patients with HFpEF. Novel biomarkers of biomechanical stress, fibrosis, inflammation, oxidative stress, and collagen turn-over have shown potential benefits in determining prognosis in T2DM patients with HF regardless of natriuretic peptides, but their role in point-to-care and in routine practice requires elucidation in large clinical trials.

Genetic polymorphism of IDOL gene was associated with the susceptibility of coronary artery disease in Han population in Xinjiang, China

Background

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. In this study, we aimed to explore whether some genetic variants of the human IDOL gene were associated with CAD among Chinese population in Xinjiang.

Methods

We designed two independent case–control studies. The first one included in the Han population (448 CAD patients and 343 controls), and the second one is the Uygur population (304 CAD patients and 318 controls). We genotyped three SNPs (rs2072783, rs2205796, and rs909562) of the IDOL gene.

Results

Our results revealed that, in the Han female subjects, for rs2205796, the distribution of alleles, dominant model (TT vs. GG + GT) and the additive model (GG + TT vs. GT) showed significant differences between CAD patients and the control subjects (P = 0.048, P = 0.014, and P = 0.032, respectively).

Conclusions

The rs2205796 polymorphism of the IDOL gene is associated with CAD in the Chinese Han female population in Xinjiang, China.

The role of sodium glucose co-transporter inhibitors in heart failure prevention

The worldwide prevalences of diabetes mellitus (DM) and of heart failure (HF) have collectively been on the rise. HF accounts for a large portion of the cardiovascular mortality and morbidity associated with DM. DM increases the risk of developing heart failure by promoting atherosclerosis and exerting direct deleterious effects on the myocardium. Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors are agents approved for the treatment of DM; they exert their anti-hyperglycemic effects by blocking renal reabsorption of glucose and inducing glycosuria. SGLT-2 inhibitors have consistently decreased the hospitalization rate of HF and cardiovascular mortality in several clinical trials. SGLT-2 inhibitors also possess anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, and antihypertensive in addition to beneficial effects on the myocardial metabolism, which may account for their heart failure benefits. However, further research still needs to be done to evaluate the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors in non-diabetic patients and their efficacy in preventing or treating different heart failure phenotypes.

Sodium-glucose Co-transporter 2 Inhibitors: a New Path for Heart Failure Treatment

Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have been emerged as a powerful therapeutic option to reduce the risk of heart failure and hospitalization for heart failure (HFH) in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and to reduce cardiovascular mortality and HFH in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) patients with or without T2DM. Ongoing study to evaluate the clinical effect of SGLTi for heat failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) may further widen the clinical implication of these novel cardiorenal protective drugs beyond their metabolic effects. In this review, we summarized the updated clinical evidences on SGLT2i (rather than basic and translational evidence) for reduction of HF risk in T2DM patients and favorable clinical outcomes in both HFrEF and HFpEF patients.

Results from cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOT) with 5 different sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i; empagliflozin, canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, ertugliflozin, sotagliflozin), initially developed for their glucose-lowering effect by blocking tubular glucose reabsorption in kidney, have been shown to decrease the risk of heart failure hospitalization (HFH) across a range of patients with and without atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Following these CVOT results, SGLT2i (dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, sotagliflozin) also were reported to reduce HFH and cardiovascular death in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), regardless of existence or absence of T2DM. Ongoing studies have been conducted to evaluate the clinical benefit of SGLT2i (empagliflozin, dapagliflozin) in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Although SGLT2i brought us to the entrance of a new era for prevention of HF incidence and worsening of HF, the search for pivotal mechanism of SGLT2i to improve our pharmacological armamentarium should continue in order to protect every HF patient from fatal progression of HF disease. In this review, we summarized the updated clinical evidences on SGLT2i (rather than basic and translational evidence) for reduction of HF risk in T2DM patients and favorable clinical outcomes in both HFrEF and HFpEF patients.

Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors: peculiar "hybrid" diuretics that protect from target organ damage and cardiovascular events

AIMS

Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have been proven to lead to relevant cardiovascular benefits, regardless of glycemic control function. SGLT2i have on the one hand led to reduction in cardiovascular events such as heart failure and on the other hand to renal protection. Blood pressure reduction and kidney function play a central role in these outcomes. This focused review describes the main mechanisms and clinical aspects of SGLT2i.

DATA SYNTHESIS

These drugs act on the proximal renal tubule and behave as diuretics with a "hybrid" mechanism, as they can favour both natriuresis and enhanced diuresis due to an osmotic effect dependent on glycosuria, resulting in blood pressure decrease. The exclusive peculiarity of these "diuretics", which distinguishes them from loop and thiazide diuretics, lies also in the activation of the tubule-glomerular feedback.

CONCLUSIONS

This mechanism, resulting in modulation of arterioles' tone and renin secretion, contributes to the favorable outcomes, suggesting a wider use of SGLT2i in internal medicine, nephrology and cardiology.

The Role of Arterial Stiffness and Central Hemodynamics in Heart Failure

Whereas traditional understanding of left ventricular afterload was focused on a steady-state circulation model with continuous pressures and flow, a more realistic concept is emerging, taking the pulsatile nature of the heart and the arterial system into account. The most simple measure of pulsatility is brachial pulse pressure, representing the pulsatility fluctuating around the mean blood pressure level. Brachial pulse pressure is widely available, fundamentally associated with the development and treatment of heart failure (HF), but its analysis is often confounded in patients with established HF. The next step of analysis consists of arterial stiffness, central (rather than brachial) pressures, and of wave reflections. The latter are closely related to left ventricular late systolic afterload, ventricular remodeling, diastolic dysfunction, exercise capacity, and, in the long term, the risk of new-onset HF. Wave reflection may also evolve as a suitable therapeutic target for HF with preserved and reduced ejection fraction. A full understanding of ventricular-arterial coupling, however, requires dedicated analysis of time-resolved pressure and flow signals. This review provides a summary of current understanding of pulsatile hemodynamics in HF.