The SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin (Farxiga), commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes and more recently approved to treat heart patients, is highly effective in frail patients with heart failure, a new analysis finds.
In fact, the more frail the patient, the more health improvements associated with the drug, investigators reported.
SGLT2 inhibitors were originally approved to help control blood sugar levels in diabetes, In April 2021, dapagliflozin received an additional nod from the Food and Drug Administration to treat other diseases as well. The drug has been found to help prevent kidney function decline, kidney failure, cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure.
In the current study, researchers from the University of Glasgow analyzed results from a prior study of dapagliflozin to examine its efficacy in patients with varying levels of frailty. In the new analysis, frailty was found in 50% of the study participants and linked to more health impairments and worse clinical outcomes. Study participants were prescribed 10 mg of dapagliflozin or placebo once daily as guidelines recommend.
Dapagliflozin substantially reduced risk for worsening heart failure events and death. And no matter their level of frailty, frail study participants who took the drug showed improved heart failure symptoms, physical function and quality of life, the researchers reported. The greatest reductions across all outcomes were in the frailest patients, they noted.
The highest level of frailty included in the study was Frailty Index class 3. Higher-risk patients were precluded by the enrollment criteria.
Full findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
