Evaluation of Dapagliflozin in the Treatment of Heart Failure

Abstract

The European Society of Cardiology recently addressed the use of SGLT2 inhibitor use in the treatment of heart failure (HF). Dapagliflozin is a SGLT2 inhibitor recently approved by the US FDA for treatment of patients with HF with a reduced ejection fraction with a New York Heart Association classification of II–IV. Dapagliflozin significantly decreases the risk of worsening HF or death from cardiovascular cause compared with placebo and this risk does not differ based on the presence or absence of Type 2 diabetes. This paper aims to summarize the chemistry, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of dapagliflozin; and evaluates the clinical efficacy of dapagliflozin in the treatment of HF.

Lay abstract

The term heart failure (HF) describes the condition in which the heart is ineffective in delivering blood to the tissues and organs throughout the body. Dapagliflozin is a medication used in Type 2 diabetes that works by increasing the amount of sugar lost in the urine; it belongs to a class of medications called SGLT2 inhibitors. Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for HF and it has been found that dapagliflozin improves the outcomes of HF patients with and without diabetes. This paper summarizes and evaluates dapagliflozin and other medications in the same drug class in the treatment of HF. Dapagliflozin, empagliflozin and canagliflozin have all shown to improve outcomes in patients with HF with a reduced ejection fraction (a measure of how much blood is pumped from the heart with each beat), but more studies are needed in patients with a preserved ejection fraction.

Keywords:

• dapagliflozin
• heart failure
• reduced ejection fraction
• preserved ejection fraction
• SGLT2

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Company review disclosure

In addition to the peer-review process, with the author's consent, the manufacturer of the product discussed in this article was given the opportunity to review the manuscript for factual accuracy. Changes were made by the author at their discretion and based on scientific or editorial merit only. The author maintained full control over the manuscript, including content, wording and conclusions.