Lessons from a pre-specified meta-analysis of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in heart failure: Time for new clinical recommendations

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide with heart failure (HF) being one of the significant contributors to morbidity and mortality. The incidence of HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is increasing, especially in young adults making it a growing public health matter. Sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been shown to reduce the development, progression, and mortality of heart failure in patients with reduced EF regardless of patients’ diabetes status but their clinical benefits in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction are less well-established. Recent trials have shown reductions in cardiovascular death and heart failure events in patients with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction (EF), although with uncertainty around the consistency of clinical benefits across the classes and therapeutic effects.