Dapagliflozin (Farxiga) is an SGLT2 inhibitor, which is given as a pill to people who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and is used in conjunction with diet and exercise, and sometimes other medications. It works by causing the kidneys to secrete more sugar in the urine. According to a study published in October 2018 in the journal Cardiovascular diabetes, the drug is also helpful in treating heart failure, a complication of type 2 diabetes.
Heart failure occurs when the left side of the heart it cannot take blood from the lungs and send it fast enough to the rest of the body.
The heart is made up of muscle tissue that grows when under stress. The inward growth of this muscle creates a smaller space to accommodate the blood that flows from the lungs. This causes the heart to fail, filling the lungs with fluid from the blood.
In 2017, an estimated 26 million people worldwide had heart failure. In type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar levels damage the heart and blood vessels, which can lead to high blood pressure. Lowering your blood pressure reading to a healthy level is vital to reducing stress on your heart. Heart attacks may not cause chest pain in people with type 2 diabetes because nerve damage reduces sensitivity. That makes preventing heart disease even more imperative.
Researchers at Kobe University and several other research facilities in Japan looked at 58 people who had type 2 diabetes and who also had heart failure. Dapagliflozin at a dose of 5 mg / day was added to his usual regimen. After six months, the muscle tissue that comprises the left side of the diabetic’s heart decreased in size. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), a protein secreted by heart cells in response to overstretching, was decreased in participants whose BNP was extremely high. From this information, the researchers concluded that dapagliflozin might be helpful in improving heart failure in those with type 2 diabetes.
Natriuretic peptide is effective in causing the kidneys to secrete potassium into the kidneys, which reduces blood pressure and the amount of blood in the heart and blood vessels.
Dapagliflozin is given once a day, with or without food. It is prescribed as part of an overall treatment plan that includes diet and exercise. Side effects include …
- yeast infections in the urinary tract,
- a stuffy nose with a sore throat
- urinate frequently in larger amounts and at night,
- dizziness or lightheadedness
- ketoacidosis (checking for ketones in urine)
- nausea and vomiting
- feeling very tired
- have difficulty breathing
- abdominal pain and
- kidney injury.