Cardioprotective medications useful for diabetic patients

In individuals with type 2 diabetes, any degree of measurable urinary protein excretion - even in what is considered the normal range - increases their risk of experiencing heart problems, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of new study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings could help identify patients who should be treated with cardioprotective medications.Some patients with type 2 diabetes experience kidney problems that cause them to excrete increased amounts of the protein albumin in their urine, a condition called albuminuria. These patients have a considerably higher risk of developing heart problems - such as heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure - than other diabetic patients and people in the general population, who are normoalbuminuric, with urinary albumin excretion levels of less than 20 µg/min.Investigators have wondered if any level of albumin excretion - for example at a level that is the upper range of what is considered normal - might increase a diabetic patients risk of developing heart problems.The researchers found that any degree of measurable albumin excretion bore significant heart risks.When the investigators looked only at the subgroup of patients who took antihypertensive drugs called ACE inhibitors from the start of the study and throughout the follow-up period, they found no link between albumin excretion levels and heart risks.This suggests that ACE inhibitors have heart-protective properties that may benefit diabetic patients with albuminuria and normoalbuminuria alike. Future clinical trials are needed to identify levels of albumin excretion above which such cardioprotective therapy is beneficial.