Podcast Episode 2: Heart Failure Management in Patients with Diabetes for Endocrinologists, Primary Care Physicians, and Noncardiologist Clinicians: Focus on SGLT2 Inhibitors

Heart failure is a major complication of type 2 diabetes and patients with type 2 diabetes often have to manage multiple comorbid conditions that increase the risk of heart failure, such as hypertension, obesity, chronic kidney disease, and hyperlipidemia. Therefore, management of cardiovascular risk factors through lifestyle modifications and pharmacological intervention is fundamental to prevent the progression of heart failure in patients with diabetes. Hospitalization is common in patients with heart failure, and hospitalizations represent the largest component of direct medical costs for heart failure. Therapies that reduce the burden of hospitalization for heart failure are greatly needed. In this podcast series of three episodes, a cardiovascular specialist, an endocrinologist, and a primary care physician will provide practical guidance for primary care physicians on optimal identification and management of heart failure in patients with diabetes. In this second episode in the series, we give an overview of the tools available to clinicians to reduce the risk of heart failure progression in patients with early-stage heart failure. This includes the discussion of lifestyle modifications as well as the cardiovascular benefits of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and other medications used at the intersection of diabetes and heart failure. Podcast available for this article.