Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 drugs: are we sure they are useful only in the treatment of diabetes?

The sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are a new class of oral anti-diabetic drugs acting through the inhibition of renal reabsorbtion of glucose. Three important randomized clinical trial in diabetic patients receiving SGLT2 inhibitors (vs. placebo), demonstrated a significant reduction of major adverse cardiovascular events, but only in patients with known atherosclerotic disease, and a clear-cut and early reduction in hospital admissions for heart failure in patients in primary as well as secondary prevention settings. This latter information prompted the design of a recent study the DAPA-HF (Dapagliflozin And Prevention Of Adverse-outcomes In Heart Failure) trial, comparing dapagliflozin vs. placebo, and showing a significant reduction of clinical relevant episodes of heart failure in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, regardless the presence of diabetes mellitus. The mechanism by which the SGLT2 inhibitors exert their anti-heart failure action is not well understood but appears to be independent from its hypoglycaemic action. These results, along with the scarcity of adverse side effects of the drug, render dapagliflozin a new tool in the treatment of heart failure.