What the trial was testing
The EMPEROR-Preserved enrolled 5,988 patients with heart failure. The study was sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
21% lower risk of heart failure hospitalization or cardiovascular death.
New England Journal of Medicine · 2021 · NCT03057951
These findings — that of heart failure hospitalization or cardiovascular death over about two years — were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 5,988 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with heart failure, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Empagliflozin (Jardiance) is FDA-approved for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and available now, regardless of whether you have diabetes. The most common side effects are urinary tract infections and yeast infections. Ask your cardiologist whether it fits your heart failure type.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open heart failure trials
Impact of YOGA on the Quality of Life and Well-being of Heart Failure Patients
Heart failure (HF) is a chronic disease that has a strong impact on quality of life and is often accompanied by anxiety and depression symptoms that can contribute to poor treatment compliance. The overall management of heart failure is currently part of the recommendations and, alongside drug therapy and electrical devices that can be proposed, lifestyle changes (diet, physical activity) can help improve well-being. and perhaps patient prognosis. Yoga is an ancient practice, known to improve the emotional and physical well-being of individuals. There is no formal medical contraindication to this practice, which can be perfectly adapted to the patient's condition. However, very few patients with heart failure practice yoga. A few randomized trials with small numbers as well as the combined analysis of several studies have shown the benefit of yoga in heart failure. The main objective of the research is to demonstrate the improvement in the quality of life induced by the regular practice of yoga in the management of stabilized chronic heart failure patients. Secondly, we will evaluate the effectiveness of regular yoga practice on improving the clinical condition of chronic heart failure patients.
Manual Versus AI-Assisted Clinical Trial Screening Using Large-Language Models
A prospective randomized controlled trial comparing manual review and AI screening for patient eligibility determination and enrollments. A structured query will identify potentially eligible patients from the Mass General Brigham Electronic Data Warehouse (EDW), who will then be randomized into either the manual review arm or the AI-assisted review arm.