News: Recurrent AF post-ablation reduced in diabetes with SGLT2 inhibitor, study shows

Adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) and type 2 diabetes experienced a significantly reduced rate of recurrent AF if treated with an agent from the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor class prior to AF ablation, according to a retroactive study recently published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. A main composite outcome occurred in 27% of patients receiving an SGLT2 inhibitor, compared to 36% of patients not on an SGLT2 inhibitor, Medscape Medical News reported.

The study reviewed EHR entries of 13,340 United States patients with a history of type 2 diabetes and AF who underwent index ablation from 2014 to 2021. An indication of ablation failure during follow-up was defined as “need for cardioversion, new class I or III antiarrhythmic drug therapy, or a re-do AF ablation beginning after a 3-month blanking period and through 12 months following ablation.”

Besides the decreased likelihood of recurrent AF, patients on SGLT2 inhibitor treatment had significantly lower rates of all-cause mortality, heart failure exacerbations, and all-cause hospitalizations, each about 20% lower in comparison to patients with no SGLT2 inhibitor treatment.

Researchers of the study concluded that their findings put forward an important hypothesis that further prospective studies are needed to validate.

Editor’s note: To read Medscape Medical News’ coverage of this story, click here. To read the full research report, click here.