A recently developed drug for diabetes patients — Empagliflozin — can help in the treatment of heart failure in both diabetics and non-diabetics.

The findings of the clinical trial were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It revealed that this medication can improve the heart’s size, shape, and function. It also leads to better exercise capacity and quality of life. This may further reduce hospitalisations for heart failure patients

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Author Carlos Santos-Gallego from Mount Sinai Hospital in the US: “Our clinical trial’s promising results show this diabetes drug can ameliorate lives of heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, enhance their exercise capacity, and improve their quality of life with little to no side effects.”

“Our study also identifies why this drug is effective: because it improves heart function, something that has not been understood until now,” Santos-Gallego added.

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Notably, the researchers mentioned that this drug did not seem to trigger hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, in non-diabetic patients.

Trial

For the trial, researchers enrolled 84 patients with chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (EF) — the percentage of blood the left ventricle pumps with each contraction