Some newer type 2 diabetes medications can help lower a patient’s risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib), according to a new meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Cardiology.
Patients with type 2 diabetes and AFib face a much higher risk of heart failure, all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, the authors noted, making it especially crucial that we learn more about preventing AFib in such individuals.
The meta-analysis included data from four cardiovascular outcomes trials related to dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, seven trials related to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) and another seven trials related to sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors. The risk of bias was considered “low” for each evaluated trial, and two independent researchers extracted all data.
Overall, GLP-1RAs and SGLT-2 inhibitors were associated with a substantial decrease in a patient’s risk of developing AFib. For GLP-1RAs, the decrease in risk was equal to 14%. For SGLT-2 inhibitors, the decrease in risk was equal to 19%.
A much smaller decrease—equal to 7%—was associated with DPP-4 inhibitors.
“Collectively, newer antidiabetics do not confer an increased risk for AF among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, while SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1RAs seem to be protective, providing an additional cardiovascular benefit, besides the well-established ones,” wrote lead author Dimitrios Patoulias, MD, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, and colleagues. “These observations might have direct treatment implications, especially for those patients having additional risk factors for AF except for type 2 diabetes mellitus, such as valvular disease.”
The full analysis is available here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.