Home » BCS Editorials » STEP-HFpEF: GLP-1 agonists the next class of HFpEF therapies?
Heart failure with preserved ejection (HFpEF) is a condition underlined by impaired left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in the presence of normal contractile function, occurring due to the complex interplay between cardiometabolic comorbidities, inflammatory changes, volume overload and increased stiffness resulting in abnormal LV remodelling (1). HFpEF patients who are obese have been shown to demonstrate worse clinical and haemodynamic features compared to patients without obesity (2). Therefore, this patient population may respond favourably to weight loss measures. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are an established treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity, and have been shown to achieve effective weight loss and reduce major adverse cardiovascular events in those with concomitant cardiovascular or renal disease (3). Although a high proportion of patients with HFpEF are also obese, there is a paucity of obesity-targeting therapies in this particular population.