A new study published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure by researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and reported by EurekAlert, has shown that metformin, a drug often used in the treatment of diabetes, is safe for use in treating patients who have both diabetes and advanced heart failure.
The new study involved 401 patients of an average age of 56, with type 2 diabetes and advanced systolic heart failure. This patient cohort was followed for 14 years in a comprehensive heart failure management program. The study results suggest that in patients with both advanced heart failure and diabetes, use of metformin is safe, and may be associated with better heart failure survival.
Metformin previously carried a FDA warning against its use in treating diabetes in heart failure patients and many physicians have been reluctant to use metformin and other similar medications to treat this patient group. The researchers said that these new results together with results from previous studies suggest that metformin should be further investigated as a treatment for heart failure, irrespective of diabetes.