The Watson Clinic Center for Research has embarked on a new clinical trial study named DAPA ACT HF-TIMI 68. Sponsored by the TIMI Study Group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the study is designed to test the efficacy of the drug dapagliflozin in patients who have been admitted into the hospital for acute heart failure. The study is being led by Watson Clinic board-certified interventional cardiologists Kevin Browne, Jr., MD and Zia Rab, MD.

Dapagliflozin has been approved by the FDA to improve blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes, and reduce the risk of hospitalization for heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes and either cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factors. Subsequent research studies have demonstrated that the drug also reduces the risk of cardiovascular death or worsening heart failure in patients with chronic heart failure regardless of whether they have diabetes.

“The aim of this trial is to determine the safety and benefit of administering dapagliflozin during hospital admission for acute heart failure,” says Watson Clinic cardiologist and study investigator Zia Rab, MD. “The results of this study may inform more effective treatments in the future.”

During the study, participants will receive one daily 10mg dose of dapagliflozin or a placebo. The two month process includes the initial screening during the patient’s hospital stay followed by additional office-based visits at one week, one month and two months.

Founded in 1985, the Watson Clinic Center for Research provides an administrative structure upon which Watson Clinic specialists can perform medical research. Through numerous patient-oriented prospective and retrospective research trials, the Center for Research seeks to improve treatments and outcomes. The Watson Clinic physicians are working closely with the Center for Research to provide meaningful contributions to the pool of evidence-based knowledge from which all medical professionals draw.