Empagliflozin, cardiovascular outcomes, and mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Dr. Hertzel Gerstein in an interview with Dr. Roman Jaeschke.

Abstract

803 of coronary narrowing. These people were randomized to either placebo or a drug called empagliflozin, and they were actually randomized to 2 different doses of empagliflozin, either 10 mg or 25 mg. The primary analysis was to compare the placebo group to the combined both-doses group. The study continued for 3.1 years, patients were seen periodically, and as I said, it was a blinded study, so investigators were told to manage the patients’ blood pressure, lipids, and glucose levels to the best of their abilities, obviously unaware of the drug the people were taking. At the end of a median follow -up of 3.1 years, the study ended and the results were presented at the European diabetes meeting in September. They showed that people randomized to empagliflozin had a 14%—very significant—reduction in the composite outcome of nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes. Even more interesting and more striking was that there was a totally independent reduction in death from all causes as well as death from cardiovascular causes, and a 30% to 35% reduction additionally in death from heart failure with no major effect on myocardial infarction or stroke alone. This study is very unique in that it really showed a very clear benefit of this glucose-lowering drug on serious health outcomes.