Impact of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor on recurrence and cardiovascular outcomes after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure.

BACKGROUND

The impact of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) on atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence outcomes and adverse cardiovascular outcomes in heart failure (HF) patients after AF ablation is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated whether SGLT2i reduces the risk of AF recurrence and adverse cardiovascular outcomes in HF patients after AF ablation.

METHODS

HF patients with AF undergoing catheter ablation between January 2017 and December 2022 from the China-AF Registry were included. Patients were stratified into 2 groups on the basis of the use of SGLT2i at discharge and were 1:1 matched by propensity score, with SGLT2i using (n = 368) and non-SGLT2i using (n = 368) in each group. The primary outcome was AF recurrence after a 3-month blanking period.

RESULTS

During a total of 1315 person-years of follow-up, AF recurred in 83 patients (22.6%) in the SGLT2i group and 132 patients (35.8%) in the non-SGLT2i group. SGLT2i was associated with a lower risk of AF recurrence (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.43-0.74; P < .001). The composite risk of cardiovascular death, thrombotic events, or cardiovascular hospitalization was significantly lower in the SGLT2i group compared with those without SGLT2i (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.41-0.80; P = .001). Although there was a trend toward benefit, the differences in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, or thrombotic events were insignificant between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSION

The use of SGLT2i was associated with a lower risk of AF recurrence and the composite outcome of cardiovascular death, thrombotic events, or cardiovascular hospitalization after catheter ablation for AF in patients with HF.