TCTMD: Canagliflozin Improves Quality of Life in HF Patients
Treating heart failure (HF) patients with canagliflozin (Invokana; Janssen), a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, significantly improves quality of life, with the marked benefit observed early and sustained through follow-up, according to the results of the CHIEF-HF trial.
In perhaps a sign of the times, the study, which was led by John Spertus, MD (Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO), launched the same week the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the United States and was conducted without a single face-to-face visit or laboratory assessment.
The novel trial, performed in an era of increased telemedicine visits, was not without its challenges, though. Investigators planned to randomize 1,900 patients, but the sponsor stopped the trial “because of shifting priorities” after just 476 patients were enrolled in the study.
Despite the setback, and the relatively short follow-up, canagliflozin significantly improved patients’ HF symptoms regardless of ejection fraction or diabetes status. “These effects were observed as early as 2 weeks and sustained out to 3 months,” said Spertus, who presented the results of the late-breaking clinical trial at the American Heart Association 2021 Scientific Sessions.
Read the full TCTMD article: Canagliflozin Improves Quality of Life in HF Patients
