Could Liraglutide Effectively Improve Heart Failure Outcomes?

Liraglutide, the glucagonlike peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, does not improve stability in patients with advanced heart failure and reduced ejection fraction, according to a recent study.

In the Functional Impact of GLP-1 for Heart Failure Treatment (FIGHT) study, researchers randomized 300 high-risk heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction to either receive daily subcutaneous injections of liraglutide or placebo after hospitalization for acute heart failure. Primary outcomes of FIGHT were time to death, time to heart failure-related hospitalization, and time-average proportional change in NT-proBNP.
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After 6 months of follow-up, there were no significant differences between those taking liraglutide and placebo. Overall, 12% of those taking liraglutide and 11% of those taking placebo died, and 32% of those taking liraglutide and 28% taking placebo were rehospitalized for heart failure.

Among a subgroup of patients with diabetes, liraglutide effectively reduced weight and improved glycemic control.

Liraglutide should not be used in patients with diabetes and heart failure for the purpose of improving outcomes, and future, larger studies are needed to establish the efficacy of GLP-1 agonists for diabetes management and weight loss in patients with heart failure, researchers noted.

The study was presented at the American Heart Association Annual Scientific Sessions.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Margulies KB, Redfield MM, Givertz MM, et al. A randomized trial of liraglutide for high-risk heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction. Paper presented at: the 2015 American Heart Association Annual Scientific Sessions. November 8, 2015. Orlando, Florida.