[Effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists on cardiovascular risk factors and the cardiovascular system].

The results of the cardiovascular outcome trials comparing the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin and the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide to placebo have been recently published. Interestingly, empagliflozin and liraglutide treatments significantly reduce cardiovascular events in subjects with type 2 diabetes. The mechanisms underlying the observed cardioprotective effects of empagliflozin and liraglutide are speculative and future studies are needed to better understand these results. However, since reduction in the primary outcome was evident 3 months after starting empagliflozin and 24 months after starting liraglutide, it is tempting to hypothesize that the cardiovascular benefits observed in diabetic patients treated with empagliflozin are due to its hemodynamic effects and to metabolic substrate shift induced by the mild and persistent hyperketonemia, while the positive effects of liraglutide treatment may be attributable to biologic changes of atherosclerotic lesions.