Cardiovascular protective effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors on patients with acute coronary syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, especially when combined with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Many multicenter randomized controlled trials have established the cardiovascular benefits of Sodium-Glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i) in patients with T2DM at high cardiovascular risk. However, these studies did not include patients in the early stages of acute coronary events. This study investigated the cardiovascular protective effects of SGLT-2i in patients with ACS and T2DM. METHODS: A total of 232 hospitalized patients with ACS and T2DM were enrolled and divided into two groups based on their hypoglycemic drug treatment: the SGLT-2i and the non-SGLT-2i groups. Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox regression were used to compare adverse cardiovascular outcomes in both groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the hospital clinical outcomes between the SGLT-2i and non-SGLT-2i groups. The adverse cardiovascular outcomes did not significantly differ between both groups (hazard ratio (HR) 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35–1.25, P = 0.195). Moreover, the rehospitalization rates for ACS or heart failure (HF) were not significantly different between both groups (adjusted HR 0.56, 95%CI 0.28–1.10, P = 0.093). When analyzed separately, there was no significant difference in rehospitalizations for ACS (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.40–1.87, P = 0.713). However, the SGLT-2i group showed lower rates of rehospitalizations for HF (adjusted HR 0.20, 95% CI 0.04–0.96, P = 0.045). Additionally, there was no significant difference in cardiovascular mortality between both groups (HR 1.75, 95% CI 0.28–10.97, P = 0.543). Notably, the SGLT-2i group exhibited a higher angina symptom control rate than the non-SGLT-2i group (adjusted odd ration (OR) 0.45, 95%CI 0.21–0.93, P = 0.031). CONCLUSION: In recently diagnosed patients with ACS, who have T2DM, early initiation of SGLT-2i was associated with a lower risk of rehospitalization for HF and a higher rate of angina symptom control. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-023-03542-y.