Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Nearly half of patients with heart failure (HF) have preserved ejection fraction (EF) and the mortality and morbidity of patients with HF with preserved EF (HFpEF) are high. Patients with HFpEF are often elderly and their primary chronic symptom is severe exercise intolerance that results in a reduced quality of life. Thus, improvement of exercise capacity and quality of life presents another important clinical outcome in HFpEF patients. Recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses of RCTs reported that sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors improved cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in patients with HF with reduced EF. Although the effects of SGLT-2 inhibitors in HFpEF patients have been examined in multiple RCTs, results are inconsistent due partly to limited power. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of RCTs on the effects of SGLT-2 inhibitors in HFpEF patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: The search of electronic databases identified 11 RCTs including 10,845 patients. In pooled analyses, SGLT-2 inhibitors reduced the risk of a composite of hospitalization for HF and CV death (hazard ratio [95 % CI] = 0.78 [0.70, 0.87], P(fix) < 0.001). SGLT-2 inhibitors significantly increased 6-minute walk distance (weighted mean difference [95 % CI] = 18.0 [6.8, 29.3] m; P(fix) = 0.002) and the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Total Symptom Score (weighted mean difference [95 % CI] = 2.57 [0.19, 4.96] points; P(random) = 0.035) and reduced plasma NT-pro B-type natriuretic peptide levels (weighted mean difference [95 % CI] = −60.16 [−82.99, −37.33] pg/ml; P(fix) < 0.001) compared with control. CONCLUSION: The present meta-analysis suggests that SGLT-2 inhibitors may be beneficial for HFpEF patients, especially in diabetic patients.