Two drugs used to reduce blood pressure in people with diabetes have been linked to a lower risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The findings, by researchers with St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, suggest the drugs telmisartan and valsartan might offer a new way to reduce cardio risks in people with Type 2 diabetes, for whom disease-related vascular illnesses are the main causes of death.
For the study, researchers examined the medical records of 54,186 Ontario residents with diabetes who were over age 65 between 2001 and 2010. They sought to determine if there was a lower risk of cardiovascular illnesses in people taking telmisartan compared with similar drugs.
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The results showed telmisartan and valsartan were associated with a significantly lower risk of hospitalization for heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, compared with other drugs in the class of medicines known as angiotensin-receptor blockers.
The authors suggest larger studies should be conducted of cardiovascular health and deaths in patients taking different angiotensin-receptor blockers.
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