New antidiabetic therapy and HFpEF: light at the end of tunnel?

Abstract

New antidiabetic therapy that includes sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors showed significant benefit on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus, and this was particularly confirmed for SGLT2 inhibitors in subjects with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Their role on patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is still not elucidated, but encouraging results coming from the clinical studies indicate their beneficial role. The role of GLP-1R agonists and particularly DPP-4 inhibitors is less clear and debatable. Findings from the meta-analyses are sending positive message about the use of GLP-1R agonists in HFrEF therapy and revealed the improvement of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in HFpEF. Nevertheless, the relevant medical societies still consider their effect as neutral or insufficiently investigated in HF patients. The impact of DPP-4 inhibitors in HF is the most controversial due to conflicting data that range from negative impact and increased risk of hospitalization due to HF, throughout neutral effect, to beneficial influence on LV diastolic dysfunction. However, this is a very heterogeneous group of medications and some professional societies made clear discrepancy between saxagliptin that might increase risk of HF hospitalization and those DPP-4 inhibitors that have no effect on hospitalization. The aim of this review is to summarize current clinical evidence about the effect of new antidiabetic medications on LV diastolic function and their potential benefits in HFpEF patients.