Every year in January, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) comes out with new guidelines for managing diabetes. This year’s guidelines have a revolutionary new recommendation for patients with type 2 diabetes and a history of cardiovascular disease (e.g. heart attack, stroke, etc). This is based on exciting new research.
Any new diabetic medication must be studied to ensure that it is safe
for the heart and does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
It turns out that 2 of these medications,
Victoza (liraglutide) and
Jardiance (empagliflozin), were found to actually decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. Based
on these findings, the FDA has given each of these medications a new indication
with regard to cardiovascular disease. For Victoza, the new indication
is to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial
infarction, and non-fatal stroke. For Jardiance, the new indication is
to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular death.
Based on these studies and the new indications for Victoza and Jardiance,
the ADA now recommends that patients with type 2 diabetes and a history
of cardiovascular disease be prescribed these medications. This is a true
paradigm shift because up until now, no medication for diabetes has been
shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Give us a call at
(561) 513-5100 or
contact us to speak with your PBDES physician and discover if this treatment approach
may be appropriate for you.