Pharmacotherapy of heart failure: Impact of the 2021 guideline update on guideline-directed medical therapy assessed using a Japanese employee health insurance claims database

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of the 2021 guideline update on guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) utilization in patients with heart failure (HF). BACKGROUND: The 2021 update of the Japanese guidelines for HF management followed the introduction of sacubitril/valsartan and dapagliflozin into clinical practice. However, the impact of this guideline update on drug utilization patterns remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patient data were obtained from the Japanese employee health insurance claims database (JMDC). The simple GDMT score was determined based on the combination and dose of four key pharmacological classes: β-blockers, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors. Because a simple GDMT score of ≥ 5 has been associated with improved prognosis in patients with HF, patients with scores ≥ 5 were classified into the high-score group for analysis. RESULTS: Following the guideline update, the proportion of patients in the high-score group increased from 6.97% (n = 4,013) to 9.33% (n = 6,363), standardized difference 0.09. The mean simple GDMT score also showed a small but statistically significant increase (5.72 ± 0.79 vs. 6.00 ± 1.09) with standardized difference 0.28. This upward trend was particularly marked for the prescription rates of sacubitril/valsartan and dapagliflozin (sacubitril/valsartan: 1.40% before the update vs. 22.57% after the update; standardized difference, 0.69; dapagliflozin: 12.41% before the update vs. 26.64% after the update; standardized difference, 0.36). CONCLUSION: The 2021 guideline update was associated with increased use of sacubitril/valsartan and dapagliflozin, resulting in greater overall GDMT intensity. However, these findings are limited to data from 2021, and further long-term studies are needed to evaluate trends in GDMT utilization.