HealthDay News — Empagliflozin does not reduce the risk for first hospitalization for heart failure or death among patients at increased risk for heart failure after acute myocardial infarction, according to a study published online April 6 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, held from April 6 to 8 in Atlanta.

Javed Butler, MD, MPH, from the Baylor Scott and White Research Institute in Dallas, and colleagues randomly assigned patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction who were at risk for heart failure to empagliflozin 10mg daily or placebo in addition to standard care within 14 days after admission (3260 and 3262 patients, respectively).

The researchers found that a first hospitalization for heart failure or death from any cause occurred in 8.2 and 9.1% of patients in the empagliflozin and placebo groups, respectively, during a median follow-up of 17.9 months (incidence rates, 5.9 and 6.6 events, respectively, per 100 patient-years; hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.06; P =.21). A first hospitalization for heart failure occurred in 3.6 and 4.7% of patients in the empagliflozin and placebo groups, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.98), and death from any cause occurred in 5.2 and 5.5%, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.78 to 1.19). Adverse events were consistent with the known safety profile for empagliflozin.

“Empagliflozin did not reduce the risk of the composite primary end point event, a first hospitalization for heart failure or death from any cause, in patients with acute myocardial infarction who were at increased risk for heart failure,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly, which manufacture empagliflozin and funded the study.

ACC: Empagliflozin Does Not Cut Risk for Heart Failure After Acute MI

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