Cardiovascular Outcomes Trials of Glucose-Lowering Drugs or Strategies in Type 2 Diabetes

As recently as 20 years ago there were no randomized controlled trials of potentially cardiovascular protective therapies in people with type 2 diabetes. The ongoing cardiovascular trials bring needed evidence. Both primary and subsidiary analyses have transformed diabetes from a largely eminence based specialty to one that is firmly evidence based. These studies have provided evidence supporting glucose-lowering drugs for patients with cardiovascular risk factors. Randomized controlled trials such as those described here will continue to challenge assumptions and create new approaches and paradigms that can be pursued to reduce and hopefully eliminate serious cardiovascular and other consequences of diabetes.