The commonly used diabetes drug metformin outstrips others at preventing heart attacks and strokes, researchers report today.
The findings will give reassurance to many British patients who take the drug to treat type 2 diabetes.
The findings come from an analysis of more than 100,000 patients in Denmark treated with diabetes drugs over a ten year period.
Researchers found that metformin reduced the risk of a heart attack in patients without known heart disease by between 16 and 25 per cent. And once a patient had suffered a heart attack, metformin reduced risk by a quarter to a third compared with the other drugs.
Researcher Dr Tina Ken Schramm, of the Rigshospitalet Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, said the other diabetes drugs, known as insulin secretagogues, were known to help reduce long term heart risk – but the study showed metformin was even more effective.
She suggested detailed clinical studies should be conducted to identify the impact of different drugs on patients facing low and high risk of heart disease.
Experts said the findings reinforced the UK guidance to use the drug first.
Judy O’Sullivan, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Anyone who is taking a drug other than metformin to treat their type 2 diabetes should not stop based on this study alone, but should chat to their GP for advice.
"People with diabetes are at high risk of having a heart attack or stroke so it’s important that in addition to controlling their diabetes with medication they should also lead a healthy lifestyle."
* Meanwhile British researchers have found a beneficial side-effect from the drug for women.
The research at Warwick University shows that women who take metformin may gain protection against endometrial cancer, which affects the lining of the womb.
The findings, from laboratory studies, have been reported in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Mortality and cardiovascular risk associated with different insulin secretagogues compared with metformin in type 2 diabetes, with or without a previous myocardial infarction: a nationwide study. Tina Ken Schramm et al. European Heart Journal April 6 2011. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehr077
Metformin Treatment Exerts Antiinvasive and Antimetastatic Effects in Human Endometrial Carcinoma Cells. Bee K. Tan, Raghu Adya, Jing Chen, Hendrik Lehnert, Louis J. Sant Cassia, and Harpal S. Randeva. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism doi:10.1210/jc.2010-1803
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