Dapagliflozin may improve symptoms in patients with HFrEF with limited impact on exercise capacity suggests a new study published in the Circulation.
Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors reduce the risk of worsening heart failure (HF) and cardiovascular death in patients with HF irrespective of left ventricular ejection fraction. It is important to determine whether therapies for HF improve symptoms and functional capacity.

The DETERMINE (Dapagliflozin Effect on Exercise Capacity Using a 6-Minute Walk Test in Patients With Heart Failure) double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trials assessed the efficacy of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor dapagliflozin on the Total Symptom Score (TSS) and Physical Limitation Scale (PLS) of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) in 313 patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (DETERMINE-Reduced) and in 504 patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (DETERMINE-Preserved) with New York Heart Association class II or III symptoms and elevated natriuretic peptide levels. The primary outcomes were changes in the KCCQ-TSS, KCCQ-PLS, and 6MWD after 16 weeks of treatment.
RESULTS:
Among the 313 randomized patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction, the median placebo-corrected difference in KCCQ-TSS from baseline at 16 weeks was 4.23 (95% CI, 0.96, 8.22; P=0.022) in favor of dapagliflozin. The median placebo-corrected difference in KCCQ-PLS was 4.2 (95% CI, 0.00, 8.3; P=0.058). The median placebo-corrected difference in 6MWD from baseline at 16 weeks was 3.2 meters (95% CI, −6.5, 13.0; P=0.69). In the 504 patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction, the median placebo-corrected 16-week difference in KCCQ-TSS and KCCQ-PLS was 3.2 (95% CI, 0.4, 6.0; P=0.079) and 3.1 (−0.1, 5.4; P=0.23), respectively. The median 16-week difference in 6MWD was 1.6 meters (95% CI, −5.9, 9.0; P=0.67). In an exploratory post hoc analysis of both trials combined (DETERMINE-Pooled), the median placebo-corrected difference from baseline at 16 weeks was 3.7 (1.5, 5.9; P=0.005) for KCCQ-TSS, 4.0 (0.3, 4.9; P=0.036) for KCCQ-PLS, and 2.5 meters (−3.5, 8.4; P=0.50) for 6MWD.
Dapagliflozin improved the KCCQ-TSS in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction but did not improve KCCQ-PLS or 6MWD. Dapagliflozin did not improve these outcomes in patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction. In a post hoc analysis including all patients across the full spectrum of ejection fraction, there was a beneficial effect of dapagliflozin on KCCQ-TSS and KCCQ-PLS but not 6MWD.
Reference:
Effect of Dapagliflozin Versus Placebo on Symptoms and 6-Minute Walk Distance in Patients With Heart Failure: The DETERMINE Randomized Clinical Trials
John J.V. McMurray, Kieran F. Docherty, Rudolf A. de Boer, Ann Hammarstedt, Dalane W. Kitzman, Mikhail N. Kosiborod, Anna Maria Langkilde, Barry Reicher, Michele Senni, Sanjiv J. Shah, Ulrica Wilderäng, Subodh Verma and Scott D. Solomon
Originally published 7 Dec 2023https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.065061Circulation. 2023;0
Keywords:
Dapagliflozin, improve, symptoms, patients, HFrEF, limited, impact, exercise, capacity,John J.V. McMurray, Kieran F. Docherty, Rudolf A. de Boer, Ann Hammarstedt, Dalane W. Kitzman, Mikhail N. Kosiborod, Anna Maria Langkilde, Barry Reicher, Michele Senni, Sanjiv J. Shah, Ulrica Wilderäng, Subodh Verma and Scott D. Solomon