Correlation between myocardial strain and adverse remodeling in a non-diabetic model of heart failure following empagliflozin therapy

The sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors reduce mortality and heart failure (HF) hospitalizations. The underlying mechanisms remain unclear but seem to be irrespective of glucose-lowering properties. This study aims to evaluate the impact of empagliflozin on myocardial biomechanics and correlation with markers of adverse remodeling. Following myocardial infarct induction to create a model of HF, 14 pigs were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either empagliflozin 10 mg daily or placebo for 2 months. Speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) and feature-tracking cardiac magnetic resonance (FTCMR) were performed at baseline and at the end of the study to analyze myocardial deformation. The results were correlated with markers of adverse cardiac remodeling. Empagliflozin significantly improved STE indices. These parameters significantly correlated with adverse cardiac remodeling. In contrast, FTCMR indices showed only a trend toward improved myocardial deformation and without significant correlation with adverse cardiac remodeling. The correlation between both techniques to assess myocardial deformation was low. Empagliflozin enhances myocardial deformation, assessed by STE techniques, in a non-diabetic porcine model of ischemic HF. This may be related to a mitigation of adverse cardiac remodeling following ischemia reperfusion injury. In contrast, FTCMR technique needs further development and validation.