SUMMIT study - tirzepatide in patients with obesity and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)

SUMMIT study investigated the use of tirzepatide in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (1):

Trial design:

• double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial
• randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, 731 patients with heart failure, an ejection fraction of at least 50%, and a body-mass index (the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) of at least 30 to receive tirzepatide (up to 15 mg subcutaneously once per week) or placebo for at least 52 weeks
• two primary end points were a composite of adjudicated death from cardiovascular causes or a worsening heart-failure event (assessed in a time-to-first-event analysis) and
• the change from baseline to 52 weeks in the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire clinical summary score (KCCQ-CSS; scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better quality of life)

Study results:

• total of 364 patients were assigned to the tirzepatide group and 367 to the placebo group
• median duration of follow-up was 104 weeks
• adjudicated death from cardiovascular causes or a worsening heart-failure event occurred in 36 patients (9.9%) in the tirzepatide group and in 56 patients (15.3%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.62)
• at 52 weeks, the mean (+/-SD) change in the KCCQ-CSS was 19.5+/-1.2 in the tirzepatide group as compared with 12.7+/-1.3 in the placebo group (between-group difference, 6.9; 95% CI, 3.3 to 10.6; P<0.001)
• adverse events (mainly gastrointestinal) leading to discontinuation of the trial drug occurred in 23 patients (6.3%) in the tirzepatide group and in 5 patients (1.4%) in the placebo group
• percent change at 52 weeks in body weight % (-13.9 +/- 0.4) in the tirzepatide group; percent change in the placebo group at 52 weeks (-2.2+/-0.5)

The study authors concluded that:

• treatment with tirzepatide led to a lower risk of a composite of death from cardiovascular causes or worsening heart failure than placebo and improved health status in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and obesity

Reference:

1. Packer M et al. Tirzepatide for Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction and Obesity. NEJM November 16th 2024.