Treatment of Heart Failure with Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors and Other Anti-diabetic Drugs

Effect of SGLT-2 inhibitors as an add-on therapy to metformin on P wave indices and atrial electromechanics in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

INTRODUCTION

Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors have been shown to reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) occurrence in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). In this prospective study, we aimed to analyze the effect of SGLT-2 inhibitors as an add-on therapy to metformin on P wave indices and atrial electromechanics in patients with type 2 DM.

METHODS

A total of 144 patients enrolled. Electrocardiographic indices were recorded on admission and at 3rd and 6th month of the combination therapy. P wave indices and atrial electromechanical coupling intervals were measured and compared.

RESULTS

Although decrease in P wave dispersion (62.78 ± 9.59 vs. 53.62 ± 10.65; p = .002) became significant at 6th month of combination therapy, significant decreases in P wave terminal force in V₁ (37.79 ± 3.45 vs. 32.01 ± 5.74; p = .035), left atrial volume index (35.87 ± 6.57 vs. 31.33 ± 7.31; p = .042), left sided intra-atrial electromechanical delay (32.09 ± 9.17 vs. 27.61 ± 8.50; p = .016), right sided intra-atrial electromechanical delay (31.82 ± 4.92 vs. 27.65 ± 8.05; p = .042), and interatrial electromechanical delay (29.65 ± 7.52 vs. 25.96 ± 4.30; p = .044) were seen as early as 3rd month of treatment. Besides, there was no statistically significant difference between Empagliflozin and Dapagliflozin subgroups in terms of mentioned parameters.

CONCLUSION

SGLT-2 inhibitors as an add-on therapy to metformin were shown to significantly improve P wave indices and atrial electromechanics in type 2 DM patients as early as the 3rd month of treatment. It was thought that this may be one of the underlying mechanisms of the decrease in the frequency of AF with the use of SGLT2 inhibitors.

Association between antidiabetic drugs and the incidence of atrial fibrillation in patients with type 2 diabetes: A nationwide cohort study in South Korea

BACKGROUND

Although diabetes is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF), studies on the AF risk according to the antidiabetic drugs are lacking. This study evaluated the effects of antidiabetic drugs on AF incidence in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

We included 2,515,468 patients with type 2 diabetes from the Korean National Insurance Service database without a history of AF who underwent health check-ups between 2009 and 2012. Newly diagnosed AF incidence was recorded until December 2018 according to the main antidiabetic drug combinations used in the real world.

RESULTS

Of the patients included (mean age, 62 ± 11 years; 60 % men), 89,125 were newly diagnosed with AF. Metformin (MET) alone (hazard ratio [HR] 0.959, 95 % CI 0.935-0.985) and MET combination therapy (HR < 1) significantly decreased the risk of AF compared to the no-medication group. The antidiabetic drugs consistently showing a protective effect against AF incidence were MET (HR 0.977, 95 % CI 0.964-0.99) and thiazolidinedione (TZD; HR 0.926, 95 % CI 0.898-0.956), even after adjusting for various factors. Moreover, this protective effect was more remarkable with MET and TZD combination therapy (HR 0.802, 95 % CI 0.754-0.853) than with other drug combinations. In the subgroup analysis, the preventive effect of MET and TZD treatment against AF remained consistent, regardless of age, sex, duration, and diabetes severity.

CONCLUSION

The combination therapy of MET and TZD is the most effective antidiabetic drug for preventing AF in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Relationship of diabetes, heart failure, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide with cardiovascular outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation

Aims

We aim to explore the relationship of heart failure (HF) and diabetes with cardiovascular (CV) death or hospitalization for HF (HHF) and to study the clinical utility of N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) in an unselected patient population with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods and results

Patients with AF admitted to a tertiary academic center between January 2005 and July 2019 were identified through a search of electronic health records. We used Cox regression models adjusted for age, sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate, diabetes, HF, body mass index, prior myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, hypertension, smoking, C‐reactive protein, and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol. To select the most informative variables, we performed a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression with 10‐fold cross‐validation. In total, 7412 patients (median age 70 years, 39.7% female) were included in this analysis and followed over a median of 4.5 years. Both diabetes [adjusted (Adj.) HR 1.87, 95% CI 1.55–2.25] and HF (Adj. HR 2.57, 95% CI 2.22–2.98) were significantly associated with CV death/HHF after multivariable adjustment. Compared with patients with diabetes, HF patients had a higher risk of HHF but a similar risk of CV and all‐cause death. NT‐proBNP showed good discriminatory performance (area under the curve 0.78, 95% CI 0.77–0.80) and the addition of NT‐proBNP to the covariates used for adjustment resulted in a significant area under the curve improvement (Δ = 0.04, P < 0.001). With least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, the strongest associations for CV death/HHF were obtained for NT‐proBNP [HR 1.91 per 1‐SD in log‐transformed biomarker], HF (HR 1.72), and diabetes (HR 1.56).

Conclusions

Diabetes and HF were independently associated with an increased risk of CV death/HHF in an unselected AF patient population, and NT‐proBNP improved risk assessment. These findings suggest that AF patients with diabetes and/or HF should be managed not only for their risk of stroke and systemic embolic events but also for CV death/HHF.

Comparison of the effect of glucose-lowering agents on the risk of atrial fibrillation: A network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Diabetes is associated with the progression of atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL). However, whether glucose-lowering agents could reduce AF/AFL remains unclear. We hypothesized that different glucose-lowering agents exhibit different characteristic effects on the risk of AF/AFL.

OBJECTIVES

The goals of this study were to evaluate the effect of different glucose-lowering agents and identify the optimal treatment that can reduce AF/AFL events in patients with diabetes.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from their inception to September 30, 2020. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used in this network meta-analysis. The primary end point of our study was AF or AFL. Only studies that reported AF/AFL as clinical end points with a follow-up period of at least 12 months were included. The results from trials were presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The results were pooled using a Bayesian random-effects model.

RESULTS

Five eligible studies (9 glucose-lowering agents, including thiazolidinedione, metformin, sulfonylurea, insulin, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist [GLP-1RA], sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, and non-sulfonylurea) consisting of 263,583 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included. Based on the pooled results, GLP-1RA significantly reduced AF/AFL events compared with metformin (OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.04-0.61), sulfonylurea (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.07-0.73), insulin (OR 0.20; 95% CI 0.07-0.86), and non-sulfonylurea (OR 0.18; 95% CI 0.04-0.66).

CONCLUSION

Compared with other glucose-lowering agents, GLP-1RA could reduce the risk of AF/AFL in patients with diabetes.

Effect of Dapagliflozin on Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background:

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL) are associated with both diabetes mellitus and its related comorbidities, including hypertension, obesity, and heart failure (HF). SGLT2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter 2) inhibitors have been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce weight, have salutary effects on left ventricular remodeling, and reduce hospitalization for HF and cardiovascular death in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. We therefore investigated whether SGLT2 inhibitors could also reduce the risk of AF/AFL.

Methods:

DECLARE-TIMI 58 (Dapagliflozin Effect on Cardiovascular Events–Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction 58) studied the efficacy and safety of the SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin versus placebo in 17 160 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and either multiple risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (n=10 186) or known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (n=6974). We explored the effect of dapagliflozin on the first and total number of AF/AFL events in patients with (n=1116) and without prevalent AF/AFL using Cox and negative binomial models, respectively. AF/AFL events were identified by search of the safety database using MedDRA preferred terms (“atrial fibrillation,” “atrial flutter”).

Results:

Dapagliflozin reduced the risk of AF/AFL events by 19% (264 versus 325 events; 7.8 versus 9.6 events per 1000 patient-years; hazard ratio [HR], 0.81 [95% CI, 0.68–0.95]; P =0.009). The reduction in AF/AFL events was consistent regardless of presence or absence of a history of AF/AFL at baseline (previous AF/AFL: HR, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.58–1.09]; no AF/AFL: HR, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.67–0.98]; P for interaction 0.89). Similarly, presence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (HR, 0.83 [95% CI, 0.66–1.04]) versus multiple risk factors (HR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.62–0.99]; P for interaction 0.72) or a history of HF (HF: HR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.55–1.11]; No HF: HR, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.68–0.97]; P for interaction 0.88) did not modify the reduction in AF/AFL events observed with dapagliflozin. Moreover, there was no effect modification by sex, history of ischemic stroke, glycated hemoglobin A 1c , body mass index, blood pressure, or estimated glomerular filtration rate (all P for interaction >0.20). Dapagliflozin also reduced the total number (first and recurrent) of AF/AFL events (337 versus 432; incidence rate ratio, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.64–0.92]; P =0.005).

Conclusions:

Dapagliflozin decreased the incidence of reported episodes of AF/AFL adverse events in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This effect was consistent regardless of the patient’s previous history of AF, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, or HF.

Registration:

URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01730534.

Physiological monitoring of the complex multimorbid heart failure patient - diabetes and monitoring glucose control

Heart failure (HF) is a global epidemic, particularly affecting the elderly and/or frail patients often with comorbidities. Amongst the comorbidities, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is highly prevalent and associated with higher morbidity and mortality. We review the detection and treatment of T2DM in HF and the need to balance the risk of hypoglycaemia and overall glycaemic control. Despite large attributable risks, T2DM is often underdiagnosed in HF. Therefore there is a need for systematic monitoring (screening) for undetected T2DM in HF patients. Given that patients with HF are at greater risk for developing T2DM compared with the general population, an emphasis also has to be placed on regular reassessment of glycaemic status during follow-up. Therefore, glucose-lowering therapies (e.g. sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, SGLT-2 inhibitors) with a known benefit for the prevention or delay of HF hospitalization could be considered early in the course of T2DM, to optimise treatment and reduce cardiovascular (CV) risk. Although intensive glycaemic control has been shown to effectively reduce the risk of microvascular complications in T2DM, these same trials have shown either no reduction in CV outcomes, or even an increase in mortality with tight glycaemic control (i.e. targeting HbA1c levels <7.0%). More lenient glycaemic targets (e.g. HbA1c levels 7.0-8.0%) may be more appropriate for HF patients with T2DM. The 2016 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of HF proposed metformin as the first-line therapy, given its long-standing use and low risk of hypoglycaemia. More recently, several novel glucose lowering-medications have been introduced, including dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), and SGLT-2 inhibitors. The most consistent reduction in the risk of HF hospitalisation has been shown with the three SGLT-2 inhibitors (empagliflozin, canagliflozin and dapagliflozin) which now offer improved outcomes in patients with both HF and T2DM.