Empagliflozin for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction to reduce heart failure and mortality

Empagliflozin is in clinical development for the treatment of patients at high-risk of developing new onset heart failure (HF) following acute myocardial infarction (AMI; also known as heart attack), in order to reduce the risk of mortality from this condition. AMI is a serious type of coronary heart disease where the blood supply to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot. Symptoms of AMI can include chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, coughing and wheezing, and feeling light-headed or dizzy. AMI is the most common cardiovascular disease in the western world and leads to a high-risk of developing chronic HF. HF is a progressive clinical syndrome caused by structural or functional abnormalities of the heart, resulting in reduced cardiac output. Despite many medical interventions and therapies that reduce the risk for mortality in patients with AMI being available, there remains a significant unmet need in developing new and effective therapies in patients at high-risk of HF after AMI.