Treatment with Empagliflozin Effectively Lowers Blood Pressure in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension

Study results presented at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and The Endocrine Society, show that empagliflozin, which improves blood sugar levels by reducing glucose re-absorption in the kidneys, leading to glucose elimination in the urine, also effectively lowers blood pressure in patients with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

For the study, patients with hypertension and Type 2 diabetes were given one of two doses of empagliflozin (10 mg or 25 mg) or placebo for 12 weeks. Researchers monitored participants’ blood pressure and HbA1c levels at regular intervals for 24 hours prior to the start of the study and again after 12 weeks of treatment.

The study enrolled 824 patients who were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and whose blood pressure ranged from 130/80 mm Hg to 159/99 mm Hg. Two hundred seventy-six (276) patients received empagliflozin 25 mg, 276 received empagliflozin 10 mg, and 272 received placebo.

According to a news release from The Endocrine Society, “Study data showed the differences between the average decreases with empagliflozin treatment and the average increases in results of patients treated with placebo. Empagliflozin at the 25-mg dose demonstrated the greatest 12-week reduction in both systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) and diastolic blood pressure (bottom number). On average, blood pressure fell 4.2 mm Hg in comparison to placebo for systolic pressure and 1.7 mm Hg for diastolic in the group receiving 25 mg of empagliflozin. Patients who received the 10-mg dose had average decreases of 3.4 and 1.4 mm Hg compared to placebo in systolic and diastolic blood pressures, respectively.”

Patients treated with empagliflozin 10 mg experienced an average decrease in HbA1c of 0.62 percentage points by the end of 12 weeks of treatment compared to placebo. Patients who received empagliflozin 25 mg experienced an average decrease of 0.65 percentage points.

Study author Afshin Salsali, MD, executive director of the Diabetes and Metabolism therapeutic area for Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, said “Tight blood pressure control in patients with hypertension and Type 2 diabetes is known to reduce the risk of death and complications related to diabetes… Our results suggest the potential to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events with long-term treatment.”

According to Salsali, empagliflozin was well tolerated with no increased rate of side effects in the empagliflozin groups compared to placebo. Most adverse events reported in all three groups were mild in intensity.