The American College of Cardiology (ACC) on November 26 has released a new 2018 consensus decision pathway to guide cardiologists for using the two new classes of diabetes drugs- sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs).

Both of these drugs have shown to reduce adverse events in diabetics with cardiovascular disease. Experts picked liraglutide and empagliflozin as the two drugs of choice for patients with diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

The authors have pointed out that the decreased CVD risk displayed by these drugs is independent of their ability to lower A1c levels. Therefore the document has mentioned that cardiologists should also be well aware of these therapies so they can play a more active role in prescribing these medications by working with closely with other specialists and help optimise CVD outcomes for their patients.

The document has also stated that since there is no graded dose for these new SGLT2 inhibitors, the lowest available dose should be advised to patients with no further titration. The panel, in their paper, has recommended cardiologists to always educate the patient on the potential side effects, drug-drug interactions, and the cost of these drugs, as they are quite expensive.

Information for the article was sourced from Cardiovascular Business. Read the original here.