Medicine: A new treatment for heart failure

Heart failure is difficult to treat.
However, empagliflozin, a tablet originally intended for patients with type 2 diabetes, also helped patients with heart failure, regardless of whether they had type 2 diabetes or not.
Yet, empagliflozin has not been tested in all patients with heart failure, but only in a subgroup of patients, namely, patients with heart failure and a preserved ejection fraction of the heart.
The results of a large clinical study have been published in 2021.
Efficacy: In patients with heart failure and a preserved ejection fraction, empagliflozin plus the usual treatment significantly reduced the rate of hospitalisations due to heart failure, compared with placebo plus the usual treatment.
Side effects: Empagliflozin led more frequently to genital infections, urinary tract infections, and hypotension, compared with placebo.
Overall, we can say that a new treatment option for patients with heart failure has emerged.