Abstract 14962: Empagliflozin’s Cardiovascular Impact in High-Risk Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Inquiry From EMPA-REG OUTCOME

Abstract

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often co-exist yielding increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) complications, including heart failure (HF). In the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial, empagliflozin (EMPA) reduced the risk of CV death and hospitalization for HF (HHF) in patients with T2D and CV disease (CVD). We hypothesized that patients with COPD had a higher risk of CV outcomes than those without COPD, but similar treatment benefits on CV outcomes from EMPA as the overall population. Methods: In total, 7020 patients were treated with EMPA 10mg, 25mg, or placebo (PBO) with median follow-up of 3.1 years. We defined COPD at baseline (BL) by investigator reported presence of COPD or emphysema, or the use of medications for obstructive airways disease. We explored the effect of pooled EMPA groups vs. PBO within the subgroups of patients with vs. without COPD on CV death, HHF, HHF or CV death (excluding fatal stroke), all-cause death and 3-point-MACE by Cox regression adjusted for baseline risk factors. Results: The 707 (10.1%) patients with COPD at BL were slightly older (65±8 vs. 63±9 yrs), had more often HF at BL (17 vs. 9%) and coronary artery disease (84 vs. 75%), used insulin (56 vs. 47%) and diuretics (57 vs. 42%,) more frequently, but had similar beta-blocker use (64 vs. 65%) as compared to those without COPD. During follow-up, those with COPD in the placebo group had increased risk of HHF (HR 2.15 [95%CI 1.32-3.49], p=0.002), HHF or CV death (HR 1.60 [1.10-2.33], p<0.015), and all-cause death (HR 1.60 [1.09-2.35], p<0.02). EMPA consistently reduced all CV outcomes irrespective of COPD status (Fig). Conclusions: In EMPA-REG OUTCOME, 10% of patients had concomitant COPD. COPD patients were at increased risk of HHF, HHF or CV death, as well as all-cause death. EMPA consistently reduced these outcomes vs PBO among patients with and without COPD. These data suggest that EMPA’s benefits in patients with T2D and CVD are not attenuated by presence of COPD.