ABSTRACT
Background: Heart failure continued to be a leading cause of global health burden, characterized by high morbidity, mortality, and health-care expenditure. Conventional treatment options such as ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, and diuretics became unsatisfactory; this was due to both recurrent hospitalizations and very limited quality of life for the majority of patients. Recently, new pharmaceutical and interventional strategies have been presented, which raised the hope for better therapeutic approaches in heart failure.
Aim: To compare the effectiveness and safety of emerging treatments for heart failure (HF) including the sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors (ARNIs) and device-based interventions with standard care.
Methods: This cross sectional survey was conducted at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad from June 2024 to May 2025. A total of 80 patients with heart failure were enrolled. Subjects were classified according to whether they were given guideline-based treatment or new treatment, including SGLT2 inhibitors, ARNI, and advanced device-based treatment as appropriate. The outcomes studied included hospitalization, changes in LVEF, alleviation of symptoms, and AEs.
Results: The results revealed that those patients who had undergone newer therapeutic modalities had significantly better clinical outcome in comparison to the conventional treatment. The treatment group experienced a 35% reduction in subjects who were readmitted to hospital, a mean LVEF increase of 7%, and significant improvement in NYHA functional class. Side effects were minimal and controllable and there was no statistically increased treatment-related adverse reactions.
Conclusions: Novel heart failure therapy, in particular SGLT2 inhibitors, ARNIs, and contemporary device-based therapies, has proved to be superior to traditional therapy. These therapies not only increased the cardiac output and decreased hospitalization but also improved the quality of life of the patient. The integration of such new ideas into mainstream treatment could be an important advance in the treatment of heart failure.
Keywords: Heart failure, SGLT2 inhibitors, ARNIs, Device-based therapy, Hospitalization, Cardiac function.