PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin is shown to be safe and effective for treating patients who have suffered a heart attack

SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin is shown to be safe and effective for treating patients who have suffered a heart attack
2024-09-01
(Press-News.org) The SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin confers kidney-protective benefits and can therefore be given safely and effectively to patients when they are hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction (MI), a Mount Sinai-led global team of researchers has shown.

The team, led by Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, MBA, Director of the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and the Dr. Valentin Fuster Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, performed a secondary analysis of the results from a worldwide trial known as EMPACT-MI. They also demonstrated that empagliflozin can consistently reduce heart failure events among patients who had suffered a heart attack regardless of the patient’s baseline kidney function.

The results were presented at a late-breaking science session at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in London on Monday, September 1.

Patients with acute MI are at high risk for acute kidney injury, primarily due to intensive exposure to kidney stressors, such as contrast agents used during cardiac catheterization or medications that alter kidney function. This risk makes physicians hesitate to initiate SGLT2 inhibitors shortly after a heart attack because information about the safety of this class of medications in this clinical situation is limited. SGLT2 inhibitors curb the action of a protein known as sodium-glucose cotransporter 2, which helps the kidneys reabsorb glucose from the blood.

EMPACT-MI is the first analysis to determine if it is safe with respect to the kidney to initiate SGLT2 inhibitors in patients during or soon after hospitalization for acute MI. The researchers assessed the therapy’s effects on kidney function over time and evaluated its effects on heart failure outcomes in relation to kidney function.

“It is especially important to understand the safety profile of SGLT2 inhibitors since about 40 percent of patients with acute MI have chronic kidney disease,” says Dr. Bhatt. “Our research showed that empagliflozin exhibited kidney-protective effects by reducing the decline in the eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate), which measures how well the kidneys are filtering waste, compared with placebo. Importantly, our data also showed that empagliflozin was safe to initiate soon after an acute MI, regardless of the patient’s baseline kidney function.”

The EMPACT-MI trial randomized a global cohort of 6,522 patients with acute MI and increased risk of heart failure to the SGLT2 inhibitor or to a placebo. While there was no difference in risk of death, empagliflozin reduced the risk of hospitalization for heart failure as well as adverse events of heart failure. Researchers also learned that these risk reductions were consistent across baseline kidney function. At 24 months, patients in the empagliflozin cohort had stable eGFR compared with baseline, while patients in the placebo group showed a decline in eGFR, and the therapy’s kidney-protective benefits were observed regardless of the patient’s baseline kidney function. It was also shown that adverse event rates were similar in the empagliflozin and placebo groups within 30 days after first study drug intake, and similar irrespective of baseline kidney function, baseline systolic blood pressure, and a variety of clinically relevant concomitant medical therapies that affect kidney function.

“Our study will help to fill a key gap in the understanding of the clinical use of SGLT2 inhibitors in people who have suffered a heart attack,” says Dr. Bhatt, a globally recognized expert in cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology. “By reassuring physicians of the safety and efficacy of empagliflozin early after a heart attack, EMPACT-MI has enormous implications for treating a very vulnerable population of patients with cardiovascular disease worldwide.”

About the EMPACT-MI trial

EMPACT-MI trial (EMPAgliflozin for the prevention of Chronic heart failure and morTality after an acute Myocardial Infarction, NCT04509674) is a multicenter, randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled superiority trial investigating the effect of empagliflozin on all-cause mortality and hospitalization due to heart failure in adults who have had a heart attack. Participants had no history of chronic heart failure and were eligible regardless of type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease status. EMPACT-MI included more than 6,500 adults from 22 countries. Study participants were randomized to receive either empagliflozin 10 mg or placebo, once daily, both on top of standard of care within 14 days of hospital admission for heart attack. The EMPACT-MI clinical trial was conducted, analyzed, and reported by Boehringer Ingelheim in partnership with the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), with Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly providing funding. The primary results of the EMPACT-MI trial had been presented at the Annual Scientific Session of American College of Cardiology, Apr 06-08, 2024, Atlanta and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Mount Sinai Is a World Leader in Cardiology and Heart Surgery 

Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital at The Mount Sinai Hospital ranks No. 1 in New York and No. 4 nationally for cardiology, heart, and vascular surgery, according to U.S. News & World Report®. It also ranks No. 1 in New York and No. 6 globally according to Newsweek’s “The World’s Best Specialized Hospitals.”  

It is part of Mount Sinai Health System, which is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. We advance medicine and health through unrivaled education and translational research and discovery to deliver care that is the safest, highest-quality, most accessible and equitable, and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 39 multidisciplinary research, educational, and clinical institutes. Hospitals within the Health System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025. 

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

 

 

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin is shown to be safe and effective for treating patients who have suffered a heart attack

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Potassium supplementation and prevention of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery

2024-08-31
About The Study: For atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery prophylaxis, supplementation only when serum potassium concentration fell below 3.6 mEq/L was noninferior to the current widespread practice of supplementing potassium to maintain a serum potassium concentration greater than or equal to 4.5 mEq/L. The lower threshold of supplementation was not associated with any increase in dysrhythmias or adverse clinical outcomes. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Benjamin O’Brien, MD, PhD, email Ben.OBrien@dhzc-charite.de. To ...

Low-dose triple-pill vs standard-care protocols for hypertension treatment in Nigeria

2024-08-31
About The Study: Among Black African adults with uncontrolled hypertension, a low-dose triple-pill protocol achieved better blood pressure lowering and control with good tolerability compared with the standard-care protocol. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Anthony Rodgers, PhD, email arodgers@georgeinstitute.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.18080) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, ...

Single blood test predicts 30-year cardiovascular disease risks for women

2024-08-31
Research supported by the National Institutes of Health has found that measuring two types of fat in the bloodstream along with C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, can predict a woman’s risk for cardiovascular disease decades later. These findings, presented as late-breaking research at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. “We can’t treat what we don’t measure, and we hope these findings move the field closer to identifying even earlier ways to detect and prevent heart disease,” ...

Blood test of three factors predicts 30-year risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death in American women

2024-08-31
KEY TAKEAWAYS Brigham researchers assessed data from more than 27,000 participants in the Women’s Health Study who were followed for 30 years. An initial, one-time measure of three biological markers—hsCRP, LDL-cholesterol and lipoprotein(a)—in their blood predicted their risk of major cardiovascular events over the following decades. The findings support universal screening for inflammation and lipoprotein(a) in addition to cholesterol, as well as earlier, aggressive use of targeted interventions, particularly among women for whom cardiovascular disease remains ...

Digital consultations improve the rate at which patients receive optimal medication

2024-08-31
Patients with heart failure, a condition affecting more than 60 million worldwide, are four times more likely to receive the optimal combination of medications after 12 weeks of digital consultations. Researchers from five Dutch hospitals, coordinated by Amsterdam UMC, found that the use of digital consults improved care while maintaining patient satisfaction. These results are published today in Nature Medicine and simultaneously presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Cardiology.   "During the COVID-pandemic almost all of our patients were suddenly digital consult patients and, to be honest, this worked well but there were also ...

Exclusive chemical recycling of PET from cloth waste and plastic waste mixtures

Exclusive chemical recycling of PET from cloth waste and plastic waste mixtures
2024-08-31
Tokyo, Japan – A research team led by Professor Kotohiro Nomura from Tokyo Metropolitan University has developed a method for the depolymerization of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) using alcohols and an inexpensive, readily available iron trichloride catalyst. This method can be applied to the selective chemical recycling of both textile and plastic waste mixtures. Plastic waste is a significant environmental issue that requires urgent attention. However, the rate of plastic reuse (material recycling) remains low, particularly in the case of chemical recycling into raw materials, a process known as chemical recycling. Polyesters, which ...

New species of Antarctic dragonfish highlights its threatened ecosystem

New species of Antarctic dragonfish highlights its threatened ecosystem
2024-08-30
A new species of Antarctic dragonfish, Akarotaxis gouldae or Banded Dragonfish, has been discovered in waters off the western Antarctic Peninsula by researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). The species, named in honor of the recently decommissioned Antarctic research and supply vessel (ARSV) Laurence M. Gould and its crew, exemplifies both the unknown biodiversity and fragile state of the Antarctic ecosystem. Described in the journal Zootaxa, Akarotaxis gouldae was initially identified through genetic analysis. Larval specimens collected off the coast of Antarctica while trawling for zooplankton ...

COVID-19 vaccination mandates boosted uptake among health care workers

2024-08-30
At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, governments and health care centers across the country faced a difficult but important question: Should health care workers be required to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine? It was an economic quandary as much as an ethical one. Vaccine mandates could cause reductions in staff, either from workers missing time due to recovery from the vaccine or from opting to seek employment elsewhere. Additionally, health care workers are highly educated on the value of vaccines and had seen ...

New UMass study identifies factors that predict physical activity for nursing students

2024-08-30
AMHERST, Mass. -- New research from the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in collaboration with the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation, is helping to identify barriers to physical activity in nurses. Published in PLOS ONE, the study reports that the key factors influencing exercise include intrinsic motivation, certain types of social support, certain demographic identifiers and the use of health-tracking technology.    Nursing is a notoriously exhausting career, marked by irregular and long shifts and high physical demands. At the same time, prior studies show that about half ...

Auburn University secures two NSF grants to transform physics education

2024-08-30
Auburn University’s Department of Physics has been awarded two significant National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, marking a major step toward transforming physics education across all levels—from introductory courses to graduate studies. The grants, led by Assistant Professor Eric Burkholder, a specialist in Physics Education Research, aim to close the gap between traditional physics instruction and the complex problem-solving skills needed for real-world scientific challenges. The cornerstone of these projects is the recognition that traditional methods of teaching physics—while ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

[Press-News.org] SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin is shown to be safe and effective for treating patients who have suffered a heart attack