A New Hope: Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibition to Prevent Atrial Fibrillation

Abstract

Atrial arrhythmias are common in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), and despite recent advances in pharmaceutical and invasive treatments, atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFl) are still associated with substantial mortality and morbidity. Clinical trial data imply a protective effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) on the occurrence of AF and AFl. This review summarizes the state of knowledge regarding DM-mediated mechanisms responsible for AF genesis and recurrence but also discusses the recent data from experimental studies, published trials and metanalyses.

Keywords

• atrial fibrillation
• atrial flutter
• diabetes mellitus
• sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors