SGLT2 Inhibitors and Cardiovascular Risk: Lessons Learned from the EMPA-REG OUTCOME Study

Researchers tested empagliflozin, a diabetes medicine that helps the kidneys remove extra sugar through urine. The trial included 7,020 adults with type 2 diabetes and existing heart or blood-vessel disease. Half took the medicine and half took a placebo, an inactive treatment, for about three years. Compared with placebo, the medicine lowered deaths from heart disease by about 38%, overall deaths by about 32%, and hospital stays for heart failure by about 35%. It did not clearly prevent heart attacks or strokes, and it can cause side effects such as dehydration and genital infections.

What this means for you: This medicine may offer important heart benefits for people with type 2 diabetes who already have heart or blood-vessel disease. It is a prescription treatment, not a general longevity supplement, and these results do not show that healthy people should take it.