New data from a ground-breaking empagliflozin heart failure trial bolsters claims that the sodium-glucose transport protein 2 inhibitor keeps patients with preserved ejection fraction out of hospital for longer, the authors say.

The EMPEROR-Preserved randomised controlled trial of nearly 6000 patients was the first to show the drug reduced hospitalisation for heart failure in patients (mean age 72) with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) above 40%, regardless of diabetes.

Now, the research team has further teased out the data to demonstrate specifically that those patients defined by guidelines as having “true heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)” — an LVEF of 50% or higher — stand to benefit.

This was a bid to counter criticism that trials of new therapies in patients with “mid-range” HFpEF are bound to show strong results because the participants are so close to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.