Metformin may lower mortality in patients with diabetes and heart failure

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 in the October 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, HealthDay News reported.

Josie M.M. Evans, PhD, of the University of Stirling, Scotland, UK, and colleagues used a prescription database and diabetes research data to identify 422 subjects with T2DM and incident CHF who were 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 Formulary. “A clinical trial of patients with chronic heart failure receiving metformin is needed to corroborate these observational findings.”