The Study
Effect of empagliflozin on epicardial adipose tissue volume in patients with type 2 diabetes, or prediabetes, and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (SUGAR-DM-HF)
This study found that a medicine called empagliflozin made a type of fat around the heart shrink a little bit more than a dummy pill did. But it wasn't the main goal of the original study—it was just a side check. So we know it happened, but we can't say for sure it's because of the medicine or if it matters for how people feel.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
A study tested if a common diabetes medicine called empagliflozin can reduce fat around the heart in people with heart failure and diabetes or prediabetes.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 569 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This reduction was small but statistically significant, and it happened even though body weight didn't change much, suggesting the drug may directly affect heart fat.
- 2After 36 weeks, people taking empagliflozin had 3.4 mL less fat around their heart than those on placebo.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
European Heart Journal
Year
2024
Authors
Ç. Turgut, J. Fernando, C. Berry, R. Campbell, K. Docherty, J. Dreisbach, P. Jhund, K. Mangion, P. B. Mark, J. McMurray, J. Osmanska, G. Roditi, M. Petrie, N. Sattar, M. Lee
Related Content
Claims (4)
SGLT2 inhibitor medications lower the amount of fat surrounding the heart without requiring weight loss.
In patients with heart failure and diabetes or prediabetes, greater amounts of fat around the heart are consistently observed in individuals with higher body weight, male sex, coronary artery disease, elevated kidney markers, larger heart chambers, and increased heart muscle mass.
In patients with heart failure and reduced heart pumping ability, with either type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, taking 10 mg of empagliflozin daily for 36 weeks reduces the volume of fat around the heart by 3.4 milliliters compared to a placebo, as measured by cardiac MRI.
In patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, empagliflozin reduces the amount of fat around the heart, and this reduction occurs regardless of how much fat was present before treatment.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.