Review of Efficacy and Safety of Empagliflozin in Patients with Heart Failure

Abstract

The United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved empagliflozin, which is a sodiumglucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor used for type 2 diabetes, for the treatment of heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) in 2021. Earlier this year, empagliflozin became the only SGLT2 inhibitor approved for the treatment of HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) as well. These approvals were based on the studies that showed empagliflozin reducing hospitalization for HF and cardiovascular mortality. Based on these new findings, SGLT2 inhibitors, including empagliflozin, have been recently added to the heart failure treatment guidelines in the US and Europe. Although empagliflozin is approved for adults with HFrEF in South Korea, treatment guidelines for chronic heart failure have not been updated to include this drug and other SGLT2 inhibitors, yet. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to examine the studies on the efficacy and safety of empagliflozin in heart failure and its current place in clinical practice.