Two drugs commonly prescribed to treat Type 2 diabetes carry a high risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure or amputation, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.
Two drugs commonly prescribed to treat Type 2 diabetes carry a high risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure or amputation, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.
“People should know if the medications they’re taking to treat their diabetes could lead to serious cardiovascular harm,” said lead author Dr. Matthew O’Brien, assistant professor of general internal medicine and geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician. “This calls for a paradigm shift in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
The study was published Dec. 21 in JAMA Network Open.
The two drugs -- sulfonylureas and basal insulin -- are commonly prescribed to patients after they have taken metformin, a widely accepted initial Type 2 diabetes treatment, but need a second-line medication because metformin alone didn’t work or wasn’t tolerated.
Read more at Northwestern University
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