A new study from the University of Manchester found three commonly prescribed statins are best placed to lower all the “bad” types of cholesterol and prevent heart disease in people with diabetes
The study is published in the British Medical Journal and was conducted by Dr. Alexander Hodkinson et al.
It is the first study to show the effectiveness of statins, a group of medicines that can help in lowering all types of bad cholesterol for patients with diabetes.
Bad cholesterol in the blood, known as non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), can build up within the walls of blood vessels, putting people at risk of dangerous blood clots.
In the study, the meta-analysis of more than 20,000 adults evaluated the effectiveness of seven statins on lowering non-HDL-C levels.
Scientists already know which of the seven statins reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).
However, until the study, they did not know which reduced non-HDL-C, which measures LDL-C and the other types of bad cholesterol.
Therefore, non-HDL-C is a more powerful risk predictor for cardiovascular disease and has now become the primary target for reducing cardiovascular risk with cholesterol lowering treatments.
The team found rosuvastatin administered at moderate and high doses, and Simvastatin and Atorvastatin administered at high doses were the most effective treatments in patients with diabetes by using non-HDL-C as a primary measure.
The drugs lead to between a 2.20 to 2.31 millimoles per liter (mmol/l) reductions in non-HDL-C over 12 weeks.
In patients at high-risk of major adverse cardiac events, Atorvastatin administered at high doses was the most effective at reducing non-HDL-C by around 2.0 mmol/l.
The study is important because it ranks the statins best at lowering all bad cholesterol using the preferred non-HDL-C target. It also tells specifically that certain doses of three statins are more favorable in patients with diabetes.
Recent studies have found vitamin C may help treat heart rhythm problem, and common drugs for diabetes may lower COVID-19 death risk, which are highly relevant to the current study.
In a recent study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, researchers found that sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors can benefit patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease as well as those with diabetes and recent worsening heart failure.
The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Less than a decade ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved drugs for treating type 2 diabetes in an entirely new way.
Since that time, evidence in favor of the use of SGLT2 inhibitors has been mounting.
Many studies showed better blood glucose control, heart benefits, weight loss and more for patients with diabetes taking SGLT2 inhibitors.
In the study, the team examined sotagliflozin, a drug that inhibits SGLT2 and SGLT1.
SGLT2 inhibition helps the body eliminate blood sugar via urine, while SGLT1 inhibition leads to blood sugar reduction via the digestive tract.
The team tested whether sotagliflozin could prevent heart disease in patients with diabetes with chronic kidney disease.
They examined 10,584 patients who were followed for an average of 16 months.
The team found drug sotagliflozin strongly reduced the occurrences of cardiovascular deaths, hospitalizations for heart failure, or urgent visits for heart failure by about 26%.
As well, sotagliflozin reduced the rate of cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke, with an early benefit.
There was also a reduction in the total number of fatal or non-fatal heart attacks and the total number of fatal or non-fatal strokes by 32% and 34%, respectively.
The team also tested 1,222 patients with type 2 diabetes and recent worsening heart failure requiring hospitalization.
Patients were assigned to sotagliflozin or placebo and followed for an average of nine months.
The researchers found that patients who took part in the trial showed a 33% reduction in the total occurrences of cardiovascular deaths, hospitalizations for heart failure, and urgent visits for heart failure. Taking the drug prior to hospital discharge was safe and effective.
These findings show the safety and efficacy of SGLT2 inhibitors when initiated in patients hospitalized with acute heart failure.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how to reverse heart failure with diet, and how to treat and prevent heart attack in people with diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about a cure for type 2 diabetes, and results showing diabetes drug metformin may reverse liver inflammation.
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