VIVA – Research conducted by the association of heart and blood vessel specialists in Indonesia, through data on heart patients between 2017 and now, shows, of around 2000 heart failure patients, the most common cause is hypertension. coronary heart disease, and diabetes.
Although not as many people as coronary heart disease sufferers, most cases of heart failure are permanent with a lower life expectancy. The doctor explained that heart failure is a condition in which the heart’s function in pumping blood is not optimal.
According to a doctor who specializes in heart and blood vessels, Dr. Siti Elkana Nauli SpJP, the blood that is pumped is no longer able to meet the needs of all body tissues. As a result, patients experience symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath during activities. The severity of symptoms depends on the stage or stage of heart failure.
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The morbidity and mortality rates for heart failure patients are very high. The quality of life is much worse than other heart diseases.
“The life expectancy for 5 years is only about 50 percent. For hospitalized patients, the death rate is even higher, namely 17-20 percent will die within 30 days of being treated,” explained dr. Siti.
The cost of treating and treating heart failure patients is very high. One of the triggers is that they have to be hospitalized over and over again, when their symptoms worsen. Then treatment becomes more difficult and complications increase, even patients can be resistant to treatment and eventually fall into end-stage heart failure.
The goals of heart failure therapy are to reduce mortality and improve the quality of life for patients. Standard therapy for heart failure is medication, implantation of the heart, and heart transplant. However for the last two therapies, the costs are very high.
Therefore, the development of new drugs that are proven to reduce morbidity and mortality in heart failure patients is certainly a long-awaited news. One of the most recent studies for the treatment of heart failure came from an antidiabetic drug from the SGLT2 class, namely Empagliflozin.
As explained by Prof. dr. Ketut Suastika from FK Udayana Bali, initially SGLT2 was indeed an antidiabetic drug. But apparently in its development, this drug is not only useful for lowering blood sugar, but it also has other positive effects.
“This drug can help remove excess salt through the kidneys, improve blood pressure, and reduce obesity, and many other beneficial effects, including suppressing inflammation. All of these contribute to improving symptoms of heart failure, both in diabetic and non-diabetic patients,” explained Prof. Suas.
The EMPEROR-Reduced Phase III clinical trial, published recently by Boehringer Ingelheim, showed a 25% reduction in cardiovascular mortality and a 25% reduction in hospitalizations for heart failure in people with heart failure with and without type 2 diabetes who were given Empagliflozin.
Currently, Empagliflozin is the first anti-diabetic drug with cardiovascular indications in patients with type 2 diabetes, but it has not been indicated for the treatment of heart failure. The results of these clinical trials are new, so it will take time for local authorities in Indonesia to approve the drug being indicated for heart failure.
If the patient has risk factors for heart failure, it is prevented from developing heart failure by providing the best therapy.
“The mechanism of heart failure is very complex involving many pathways. Even though SGLT2 is not known to inhibit (the process of heart failure) from which path, but research has proven its effect is very positive for heart failure patients, both with diabetes and without diabetes, “added dr. Siti.
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