How does Jardiance help with heart failure?

Jardiance may help with heart failure by improving your heart’s ability to pump blood throughout the body and deliver oxygen to tissues and organs. It may do this by reducing sodium and fluid retention, improving energy use by the heart, reducing inflammation and preventing or reversing cardiac enlargement.

The exact way that Jardiance helps to treat and prevent heart failure is not yet fully known, but additional studies are looking into the exact mechanism of action.

Jardiance is thought to:

• reduce sodium and fluid retention, which can make it harder for the heart to work
• prevent or reverse enlargement of the heart which could lower its ability to efficiently pump blood
• lower blood pressure which may help to reduce stress on the heart
• improve the cardiac energy metabolism of the heart muscle
• reduce inflammation.

Jardiance has been shown in two large studies to lower the risk for cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure (when the heart is weak and cannot pump enough blood to the body) in adults with heart failure.

In patients with type 2 diabetes, heart failure is a frequent complication, but you do not have to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes to use Jardiance for heart failure. Studies have shown that Jardiance is effective for treating and preventing heart failure in people with or without diabetes.

Jardiance is an oral prescription medicine given as a once daily tablet. Your doctor may prescribe other medicines to use in addition to Jardiance to treat heart failure.

Jardiance is manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim.

What type of heart failure does Jardiance treat?

Jardiance is used to treat the two most common types of heart failure: systolic heart failure and diastolic heart failure.

• In systolic heart failure, your heart is too weak to be able to pump the blood and oxygen you need around your body.
• In diastolic heart failure, your heart muscles thicken and cannot hold as much blood as you need.

Heart failure occurs when the heart is weak and cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to the body. Fluid may back up in your body leading to swelling in your ankles, legs and stomach area. You may have trouble breathing due to fluid excess around your lungs.

Heart failure is also often called congestive heart failure.

Who gets heart failure and what are the symptoms?

Heart failure becomes more common as people get older, but anyone can be at risk. People over 65 years of age are more likely to have heart failure.

Most people who develop heart failure have often had another condition first, like heart disease (atherosclerosis or clogged arteries), high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome or an overactive thyroid.

Other risk factors may include:

• Smoking
• Obesity or overweight
• Excessive alcohol use
• Drug abuse
• Certain cancer treatments
• Black or hispanic populations

Symptoms of heart failure can range from mild to severe and may come and go. Symptoms typically worsen over time and include:

• Fatigue and tiredness
• Trouble breathing, shortness of breath, wheezing
• Lowered ability to exercise
• Cough
• Fast heartbeat
• Swelling in the legs, ankles or other areas of the body
• Feeling lightheaded
• Purple color around your mouth and nails
• Trouble sleeping
• Weight gain due to fluid retention and swelling
• Frequent urination, often at night

What is Jardiance FDA-approved to treat?

Jardiance (empagliflozin) is approved by the FDA to:

• lower the risk of cardiovascular (heart-related) death and hospitalization for heart failure in adults with heart failure.
• lower blood glucose (sugar) in adults and children 10 years of age and older with type 2 diabetes, in addition to diet and exercise.
• lower the risk of cardiovascular (heart-related) death (such as heart attack or stroke) in adults with established heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
• to lower the risk of kidney function decline, kidney failure (end-stage kidney disease), cardiovascular death and hospitalizations in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) at risk of progression.

This medicine is given as an oral tablet taken once daily in the morning with or without food. Take your medicine exactly as your doctor prescribes it.

Related questions

• How to avoid yeast infections on Jardiance?
• Does Jardiance cause weight loss?
• How long does it take for Jardiance to work?

How does it lower blood sugar?

Jardiance (empagliflozin) is in a group of medicines called sodium glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. By blocking the SGLT2 protein in the kidney, more glucose (sugar) and sodium is excreted from the body through urine instead of being reabsorbed back into the bloodstream.

Other SGLT-2 inhibitors used in the treatment of heart failure include:

• Farxiga (dapagliflozin)
• Invokana (canagliflozin)
• Inpefa (sotagliflozin)

What Jardiance side effects should I watch out for?

Jardiance is usually well-tolerated, but you should review and discuss these important side effects with your doctor.

The most common side effects (5% or greater) that may occur with Jardiance are:

• Urinary tract infections
• Genital yeast infections (of the vagina or penis)

Other common Jardiance side effects may include:

• Dehydration and low blood pressure that can result in dizziness and fainting
• Low blood sugar if used with blood sugar-lowering medicines like insulin
• Elevations in LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels
• Impaired kidney function

Serious side effects can include:

• Ketoacidosis (increased ketones in your blood or urine)
• Sudden kidney injury
• Serious urinary tract infections
• Dehydration (the loss of body water and salt that may worsen kidney function)
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) when used with other drugs that lower blood sugar
• Necrotizing fasciitis (a rare but serious tissue infection under the skin that can happen around the anus and genitals)
• Allergic reactions
• Increased cholesterol
• Lower limb amputations

Related: Jardiance dosing, warnings, and side Effects (in more detail)

Bottom Line

Jardiance may work by making it easier for the heart to pump blood and oxygen throughout the body. Jardiance is thought to help prevent and treat heart failure in adults by:

• reducing sodium and fluid retention, which can make it harder for the heart to work
• preventing or reversing enlargement or other structural changes of the heart, which improves its ability to pump
• lowering blood pressure which can reduce stress on the heart
• improving energy use of heart
• reducing inflammation

In large, Phase 3 studies, Jaridance has been shown to have positive outcomes in people with heart failure (with or without type 2 diabetes), including a lower risk for heart-related death and hospitalization for heart failure in adults.

The most common side effects with Jardiance include urinary tract infections and yeast infections.

This is not all the information you need to know about Jardiance (empagliflozin) for safe and effective use and does not take the place of your doctor’s directions. Review the full product information and discuss any questions you have with your doctor or other health care provider.