Thousands of lives could be saved by diabetes treatment

Results presented at the European Society of Cardiology annual congress being held in Vienna, Austria, indicate that a type of diabetes treatment to lower blood pressure could save thousands of lives.
At present, diabetics are offered a blood-pressure lowering medication to bring their levels down. A trial has examined then benefits of providing an ACE inhibitor combined with a diuretic to lower blood pressure amongst all diabetic patients, regardless of their baseline blood pressure. Initial indications are extremely positive.
To glean their results, 11,000 patients throughout the world were examined. Patients were given the ACE inhibitor perindopril, alongside the diuretic indapamide. One Australian researcher, Dr. Chalmers, reportedly commented: “Routine administration of a fixed combination of perindopril and indapamide to a broad range of patients with diabetes reduces the risks of death and major macrovascular or microvascular complications, irrespective of initial blood pressure level or ancillary treatment with the many other preventive treatments typically provided to diabetic patients today.”