A Study to Test the Effect of Empagliflozin in Patients Who Are in Hospital for Acute Heart Failure

Summary

This is a study in adults who are in hospital for acute heart failure. The purpose of this study is to find out whether starting to take a medicine called empagliflozin soon after first being treated in hospital helps people with acute heart failure. Participants are in the study for about 3 months. At the beginning, participants are still in hospital. Later, they visit the hospital about 3 times and get 1 phone call. Participants are put into 2 groups by chance. One group takes 1 empagliflozin tablet a day. The other group takes 1 placebo tablet a day. Placebo tablets look like empagliflozin tablets but do not contain any medicine. Empagliflozin belongs to a class of medicines known as SGLT-2 inhibitors. It is used to treat type 2 diabetes. During the study, the doctors check whether participants have additional heart failure events like needing to go to the hospital again because of heart failure. The participants answer questions about how their heart failure affects their life. We then compare the results between the empagliflozin and placebo groups. The doctors also regularly check the general health of the participants.

Timeline

Start

2020-05-18

Primary completion

2021-05-28

Completion

2021-06-02

Publications

• Angermann CE, Gerhardt T, Blatchford JP, Biegus J, Collins SP, Kosiborod M, Ferreira JP, Nassif ME, Psotka MA, Tromp J, Kraus BJ, Ponikowski P, Teerlink JR, Voors AA. Empagliflozin in De Novo vs Acute Decompensated Chronic Heart Failure: A Prespecified Analysis From EMPULSE. JACC Heart Fail. 2026 Mar 6:102999. doi: 10.1016/j.jchf.2026.102999. Online ahead of print.
• Jongs N, Gasparyan SB, Frison L, Schloemer P, Brinker M, Little DJ, Heerspink HJL. Use of eGFR Slope Thresholds as End Point Components in a Kidney Disease Progression Hierarchical Composite End Point. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2025 Dec 1;36(12):2421-2430. doi: 10.1681/ASN.0000000766. Epub 2025 Jun 17.
• Ferreira JP, Blatchford JP, Teerlink JR, Kosiborod MN, Angermann CE, Biegus J, Collins SP, Tromp J, Nassif ME, Psotka MA, Comin-Colet J, Mentz RJ, Brueckmann M, Nordaby M, Ponikowski P, Voors AA. Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist use and the effects of empagliflozin on clinical outcomes in patients admitted for acute heart failure: Findings from EMPULSE. Eur J Heart Fail. 2023 Oct;25(10):1797-1805. doi: 10.1002/ejhf.2982. Epub 2023 Aug 22.
• Kosiborod MN, Angermann CE, Collins SP, Teerlink JR, Ponikowski P, Biegus J, Comin-Colet J, Ferreira JP, Mentz RJ, Nassif ME, Psotka MA, Tromp J, Brueckmann M, Blatchford JP, Salsali A, Voors AA. Effects of Empagliflozin on Symptoms, Physical Limitations, and Quality of Life in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Heart Failure: Results From the EMPULSE Trial. Circulation. 2022 Jul 26;146(4):279-288. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.059725. Epub 2022 Apr 4.
• Voors AA, Angermann CE, Teerlink JR, Collins SP, Kosiborod M, Biegus J, Ferreira JP, Nassif ME, Psotka MA, Tromp J, Borleffs CJW, Ma C, Comin-Colet J, Fu M, Janssens SP, Kiss RG, Mentz RJ, Sakata Y, Schirmer H, Schou M, Schulze PC, Spinarova L, Volterrani M, Wranicz JK, Zeymer U, Zieroth S, Brueckmann M, Blatchford JP, Salsali A, Ponikowski P. The SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure: a multinational randomized trial. Nat Med. 2022 Mar;28(3):568-574. doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01659-1. Epub 2022 Feb 28.

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