Cardiovascular effects of non-cardiovascular drugs in heart failure

Heart Failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome that represents the final stage of most cardiac diseases, and the incidence of HF is approaching epidemic proportions. Despite improved pharmacologic and device management of patients with HF, we are still unable to restore cardiac function in most patients, nor can we rejuvenate the heart. Thus, clinical and preclinical investigations are still needed to establish innovative therapies that could tackle this problem. Furthermore, polypharmacy becomes prevalent in HF patients because HF can be complex and often accompanied with more than 1 comorbidity. As the number of comorbidities increases, the therapeutic regimens are also more complex. On the other hand, many drugs that are not used to treat HF may potentially affect the cardiovascular (CV) system. In this thesis, we have addressed the cardiovascular effects of non-cardiovascular drugs (i.e Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), Factor Xa (FXa) inhibitor and ketone ester) in HF. We also have described the potential benefits of SGLT2i in diabetic AF and the cardioprotective properties of ketone bodies. Our study provides molecular insights into the cardiovascular effects of SGLT2i, FXa inhibitor and KE in the failing heart