Metformin as a medicine decreasing cardiovascular risk in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus

Wieteska Małgorzata, Kaczyńska Agnieszka, Maj Dominik, Stanicki Paweł, Chałupnik Aleksandra, Wójcik Piotr. Metformin as a medicine decreasing cardiovascular risk in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2020;10(8):105-111. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2020.10.08.012 https://apcz.umk.pl/czasopisma/index.php/JEHS/article/view/JEHS.2020.10.08.012 https://zenodo.org/record/3971259 The journal has had 5 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. § 8. 2) and § 12. 1. 2) 22.02.2019. © The Authors 2020; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 20.07.2020. Revised: 25.07.2020. Accepted: 04.08.2020. Metformin as a medicine decreasing cardiovascular risk in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus Małgorzata Wieteska1, Agnieszka Kaczyńska1, Dominik Maj2, Paweł Stanicki1, Aleksandra Chałupnik1, Piotr Wójcik1 Student Research Circle at the Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Research Methodology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland Student Research Circle at the Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland Corresponding author: Małgorzata Wieteska; malgosia.wieteska@onet.eu ORCID ID and e-mail: Małgorzata Wieteska: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1566-7559; malgosia.wieteska@onet.eu Agnieszka Kaczyńska: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8943-9401; agaagnieszkakk@gmail.com Dominik Maj: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5100-4130; domimaj9@gmail.com Paweł Stanicki: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4942-9030; stanicki99@gmail.com Aleksandra Chałupnik: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4249-470X; olachalupnik@op.pl Piotr Wójcik: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9078-3701; piotrek1444@gmail.com Abstract Almost half of deaths in Poland (approximately 49%) are caused by cardiovascular system diseases. It means that in 2018 it contributed to the death of over two hundred thousand people in our country. Myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure are the most common of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The main risk factor for progression of cardiovascular diseases is type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). It is estimated that almost 3 million people suffer from T2D in Poland. Metformin is a promising medicine that reduces cardiovascular risk in patients with T2D. It is currently used as the first line drug in patients suffering from T2D. The aim of the presented article is to review current research on the effectiveness of the metformin as a medicine that reduces cardiovascular risk in patients with T2D. Metformin is the oldest and most commonly used medicine that reduces the concentration of glucose in the peripheral blood in patients with T2D. Due to its very good safety profile, low cost and high effectiveness, metformin is used in the first-line treatment for T2D. Recent studies indicate its protective effect by vasodilation, reducing the size of myocardial infarction, inhibiting apoptosis of cardiomyocytes or reducing oxidative stress. Currently, metformin can be seen to have a great potential in the treatment of cardiovascular complications occurring in the course of T2D. Despite the fact that this medicine has been on the market for many years, the studies on its cardio protective effects have been carried out for a relatively short period of time. It is possible that the detailed understanding of all mechanisms of action of metformin will lead to future advances in the treatment of not only T2D, but also cardiovascular and cancer diseases. Key words: Metformin; type 2 diabetes mellitus; cardiovascular diseases; myocardial infarction; atherosclerosis