Clinical Impact of SGLT2 Inhibitor After DC Cardioversion in Persistent AF With HFpEF

August 17, 2026 updated by: Juwon Kim, Samsung Medical Center

Clinical Impact of SGLT2 Inhibitor After DC Cardioversion in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Randomized Controlled Trial

SGLT2 inhibitors improve outcomes in heart failure across the ejection fraction spectrum, but their effect on maintenance of sinus rhythm after rhythm-control therapy is largely unknown. This prospective, single-center, open-label randomized controlled trial evaluates whether an SGLT2 inhibitor started after successful electrical cardioversion reduces recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia at 1 month in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. 200 patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive an SGLT2 inhibitor or no SGLT2 inhibitor.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Patients with persistent atrial fibrillation who meet HFpEF diagnostic criteria (H2FPEF ≥6 or HFA-PEFF ≥5) are screened. After at least 4 weeks of anticoagulation and exclusion of intracardiac thrombus by transesophageal echocardiography, electrical cardioversion is performed with a biphasic defibrillator. Patients who restore sinus rhythm and provide written informed consent are randomized 1:1, stratified by AF duration and left atrial size. All patients receive anticoagulation and antiarrhythmic drugs for 1 month per current guidelines, at the discretion of the treating physician. The primary endpoint is recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia at 1 month, assessed by 12-lead ECG or continuous monitoring (≥30 seconds). Analyses follow the intention-to-treat principle, with per-protocol analysis as a sensitivity analysis. The sample size of 200 provides approximately 90% power at a two-sided alpha of 0.05 to detect a difference in recurrence (24% vs 47%).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

    • Seoul
      • Seoul, Seoul, South Korea, 06351
        • Recruiting
        • Samsung Medical Center
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥19 years
  • Persistent atrial fibrillation
  • H2FPEF score ≥6 or HFA-PEFF score ≥5
  • Restoration of sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous use of an SGLT2 inhibitor
  • Intracardiac thrombus on transesophageal echocardiography
  • Refusal to participate

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: SGLT2 inihibitor
Patients receive an SGLT2 inhibitor (empagliflozin or dapagliflozin) after successful DC cardioversion, in addition to guideline-directed anticoagulation and antiarrhythmic drugs for 1 month.
Patients receive an SGLT2 inhibitor (empagliflozin or dapagliflozin) after successful DC cardioversion, in addition to guideline-directed anticoagulation and antiarrhythmic drugs for 1 month.
No Intervention: Control
Patients receive guideline-directed anticoagulation and antiarrhythmic drugs after DC cardioversion, without an SGLT2 inhibitor.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia
Time Frame: 1 month after randomization (±1 week)
Composite of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and atrial tachycardia, documented on 12-lead ECG or as an episode lasting ≥30 seconds on continuous ECG monitoring.
1 month after randomization (±1 week)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Recurrence of atrial fibrillation
Time Frame: 1 month after randomization (±1 week)
atrial fibrillation documented on 12-lead ECG or as an episode lasting ≥30 seconds on continuous ECG monitoring.
1 month after randomization (±1 week)
Recurrence of atrial flutter
Time Frame: 1 month after randomization (±1 week)
atrial flutter documented on 12-lead ECG or as an episode lasting ≥30 seconds on continuous ECG monitoring.
1 month after randomization (±1 week)
Recurrence of atrial tachycardia
Time Frame: 1 month after randomization (±1 week)
atrial tachycardia documented on 12-lead ECG or as an episode lasting ≥30 seconds on continuous ECG monitoring.
1 month after randomization (±1 week)
Stroke
Time Frame: 1 month after randomization (±1 week)
1 month after randomization (±1 week)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 17, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • SMC 2023-07-132
  • KCT0009157 (Other Identifier: Korea National Institute of Health)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.