Study Links Two Blood Pressure Drugs to Lower Risk of Heart Diseases in Diabetics

A latest study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reveals that two drugs used for lowering blood pressure in those with diabetes also reduce the risk of heart diseases.

According to the study, the two drugs namely 'Telmisartan' and 'Valsartan' that are used to lower blood pressure in people with diabetes are also effective in lowering the risk of heart diseases.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults i.e. approximately 68 million people have high blood pressure that elevates the risk of stroke and heart diseases, one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Most often high blood pressure is referred as a silent killer.

In patients with Type 2 diabetes, vascular illness caused due to the disease is one of the main causes of death. In order to control blood pressure, angiotensin-receptor blockers are used that include irbesartan, valsartan, losartan and telmisartan. But in a small trial it was noticed that the drug telemisartam consists of slightly different properties when compared to other angiotensin-receptor blockers and this could help in improving cardiovascular health.

In this study, researchers examined the data of 54,186 residents from Ontario who were diabetic and aged 65 and above. These participants had taken angiotensin-receptor blockers between April 2001 and March 2010. The researchers checked whether those taking telmisartan had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease when compared to people consuming other drugs belonging to the same class. They noticed that those taking telmisartan and valsartan had a significantly lower risk of hospitalization for heart attacks, strokes or heart failure when compared to the other angiotensin-receptor blockers.

Dr. Tony Antoniou, Department of Family and Community Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto says, "Our findings suggest that statistically important differences exist in the effectiveness of angiotensin-receptor blockers when used for the prevention of diabetes-related macrovascular disease, and that a class effect for these agents may not be assumed when used for this purpose in clinical practice."

"Although angiotensin-receptor blockers share common structural features, important pharmacologic differences exist between the drugs that may explain our results," the authors state. "Specifically, at clinically attainable serum concentrations, telmisartan is unique among these drugs in its ability to structurally interact with and activate the PPARg receptor, a ligand-activated transcription factor that regulates lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity."

The researchers suggest more randomized trials and studies into the effect of angiotensin receptor blocker on cardiovascular health.