Severe hypoglycaemia raises risk of heart failure in adults with T2D

Severe hypoglycaemia may contribute to a higher risk of incident heart failure (HF) among adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D), reports a study.

A team of investigators sought to assess the link between severe hypoglycaemia and incident HF among individuals with T2D. Participants from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study were enrolled in this analysis.

The investigators evaluated episodes of severe hypoglycaemia during the initial 24 months following randomization and defined it using two methods: symptomatic, severe hypoglycaemic event requiring medical assistance (first definition) or requiring any assistance (second definition).

Participants without HF at baseline and during the first 24 months of the study were prospectively followed for incident HF hospitalization. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were generated using multivariable Cox regression to gauge the association between severe hypoglycaemia and incident HF.

In total, 9,208 participants (mean age 63 years, 38 percent female, 62 percent White) were included in the study. Of these, 365 had at least one episode of severe hypoglycaemia. Some 249 incident HF events occurred over a median follow-up of 3 years.

After multivariable adjustment for relevant confounders, participants with severe hypoglycaemia requiring medical assistance were found to be at greater relative risk of incident HF (HR, 1.68, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.06‒2.66) than those who never experienced any episode of hypoglycaemia. In addition, severe hypoglycaemia that required any assistance correlated with an elevated risk of HF (HR, 1.49, 95 percent CI, 1.01‒2.21).