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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A drug widely used to treat type 2 diabetes has proven effective in the treatment of heart disease, according to a recent Japanese study.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Kyoto University Hospital in Japan and published their findings in the latest issue of the scientific publication Circulation.
The team studied the efficacy of dapagliflozin, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, and was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency to control blood sugar.
As part of an experiment conducted in 33 countries of the world on more than 17,000 patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the team administered to half of the participants dabagliphlozine, while the Another half received a placebo.
The team followed participants up to 4 years and during the follow-up period, 13% of participants had heart failure.
The researchers found that patients taking dabagliphlozine had a risk of death from heart disease and heart failure 41-45% less than placebo.
They also found that people who took the medication had reduced their chances of hospitalization due to heart failure or other heart disease at 38%.
"Dapagliphlozine reduced the rate of admission of patients to the hospital because of heart failure, whether or not they had heart failure at the beginning of the study," said Dr. Erie Kato, head of the team.
"The use of this drug may be beneficial for a very large number of type 2 diabetics at risk for heart disease," he said.
Heart failure patients usually lose their ability to pump blood properly. Thus, the body 's organs are not supplied with abundant amounts of blood and oxygen, resulting in a constant sensation of exhaustion and fatigue.
In addition to feeling exhausted, tired or swollen, the symptoms also include a feeling of shortness of breath when climbing a staircase, for example a decrease in the ability to exert stress or a general state of weakness .
According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world, with more deaths than any other cause of death.
About 17.3 million people die each year from heart disease, which is 30% of the total number of deaths worldwide. By 2030, 23 million people are expected to die of heart disease each year, said WHO.
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