Patients with type 2 diabetes who are prescribed the SGLT-2 inhibitor dapagliflozin have a lower risk of developing both atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter than those on placebo, a US study suggests.

The findings from the DECLARE-TIMI (Dapagliflozin Effect on Cardiovascular Events – Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) 58 trial also show that these cardio-protective effects persist regardless of prior CVD history, the researchers say.

Drawing on data from more than 17,000 participants with diabetes at risk of, or with known, atherosclerotic CVD, the Harvard Medical School-led team investigated the effect of the SGLT-2 inhibitor on the first and total number of AF and flutter events.

During the trial, 769 events occurred in 569 patients over a median follow-up of 4.2 years, and 7% of the cohort had a known history of arrhythmias at baseline.