Metformin may lower mortality in heart failure patients

Metformin, either alone or in combination with sulfonylurea, appears to increase 1-year and long-term survival in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and chronic heart failure (CHF), according to research published by the American Journal of Cardiology, HealthDay News reported,

Josie M.M. Evans, PhD, of the University of Stirling (United Kingdom), and colleagues used a prescription database and diabetes research data to identify 422 subjects with diabetes and incident CHF receiving oral hypoglycemic agents, but not insulin, to study the effect of metformin.

“Patients with T2DM and CHF who were treated with metformin alone or in combination with sulfonylureas were at significantly lower risk of all cause mortality during 1-year and long-term follow-up than those who were treated with sulfonylurea alone,” Dr. Evans told Drug Topics. “A clinical trial of metformin patients with chronic heart failure is needed to corroborate these observational findings.”