Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitor Use is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Heart Failure Hospitalization in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Real-World Study on a Diverse Urban Population

BACKGROUND: Limited evidence-based therapies exist for the management of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) use in patients with systolic heart failure (HFrEF) and type-2-diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with improved cardiovascular (CV) and renal outcomes. OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine whether there is an association of SGLT2i use with improved CV outcomes in patients with HFpEF. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a single-center, retrospective review of patients with HFpEF and T2DM. The cohort was divided into two groups based on prescription of a SGLT2i or sitagliptin. The primary outcome was heart failure hospitalization (HFH); secondary outcomes were all-cause hospitalization and acute kidney injury (AKI). RESULTS: After propensity score matching, there were 250 patients (89 in the SGLT2i group, 161 in the sitagliptin group), with a mean follow-up of 295 days. Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that the SGLT2i group had a reduced risk of HFH versus the sitagliptin group (hazard ratio (HR) 0.13; 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.05–0.36); p < 0.001). The SGLT2i group had a decreased risk of all-cause hospitalization (HR 0.48; 95% CI (0.33–0.70); p < 0.001) and SGLT2i had a lower risk of AKI (HR 0.39; 95% CI (0.20–0.74); p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The use of SGLT2is is associated with a reduced incidence of HFH and AKI in patients with HFpEF and T2DM.