A diabetes drug called dapagliflozin may help protect heart blood vessel cells from damage after a heart attack by stopping certain harmful chemical signals, which keeps the cells’ internal structure intact and prevents them from dying.

In mice with heart damage from interrupted blood flow, a diabetes drug called dapagliflozin helps calm down inflammation in tiny blood vessels and stops heart cells from dying too soon.

A diabetes drug called dapagliflozin may help protect heart blood vessels from damage caused by temporary lack of oxygen and then sudden return of blood flow, by calming down a harmful enzyme, keeping a key protein from getting damaged, and helping cells manage calcium properly — which keeps the vessel lining intact and stops cells from dying.

When scientists remove a specific protein (SERCA2) from blood vessel cells in mice with heart damage, a diabetes drug called dapagliflozin no longer helps protect those blood vessels, reduce swelling, or keep the cells alive.

When heart blood vessel cells are stressed by low oxygen and then get oxygen back, a diabetes drug called dapagliflozin helps them heal better by calming down harmful stress and fixing their internal calcium levels.

In rats that had a heart attack, a drug called dapagliflozin helped them live longer and made their hearts pump better, according to ultrasound scans.