Blood Pressure Pill Cuts Diabetics’ Death Rate, Study Finds

A combination of two blood pressure-lowering pills should be used to protect diabetes sufferers from heart disease, a new study has claimed.

More than 11,000 patients with type II diabetes took part in the study, which found that those who were treated with the combined therapy were 18% less likely to die from heart-related illnesses.

In the trial, patients were either given a placebo or a daily pill combining two blood pressure drugs; 4mg of perindopril, a blood vessel relaxant, with 1.25mg of indapamide, a diuretic. Half of the patients in the trial had high blood pressure.

In the placebo group, deaths from cardiovascular disease were 4.6%, and 3.8% for patients taking the drug; a reduction of 18%. Side effects of the pill included coughing and changes in blood metabolites, but drop-out rates were similar in both groups.

Researchers based at the University of Sydney who conducted the trial say that if the drug was given to half of type II diabetes sufferers worldwide, more than a million deaths could be prevented.