Severe hypoglycemia related to heart failure risk in type 2 diabetes patients: Study

USA: Severe hypoglycemia is associated with a greater risk of heart failure, reveals a study of a large cohort of adults with type 2 diabetes. The study appears in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 

In the study, Justin B Echouffo-Tcheugui, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA, and colleagues evaluated the association of severe hypoglycemia with incident HF among individuals with type 2 diabetes. The association was investigated in participants of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study.

The researchers assessed severe hypoglycemia episodes during the initial 24 months following randomization and defined using 2 methods: (1) symptomatic, severe hypoglycemic event requiring medical assistance (first definition); or (2) requiring any assistance (second definition). They prospectively followed participants without HF at baseline and during the first 24 months of the study for HF hospitalization. Adjusted hazard ratios (HR) were generated for the association of severe hypoglycemia and incident HF. 

The authors concluded, "in a large cohort of adults with type 2 diabetes, severe hypoglycemia was independently associated with greater risk of incident HF."

Reference:

Justin B Echouffo-Tcheugui, Arnaud D Kaze, Gregg C Fonarow, Sam Dagogo-Jack, Severe Hypoglycemia and Incident Heart Failure Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2021;, dgab794, https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgab794