Study: Diabetes pill Jardiance cuts risk of death, hospitalization from heart complications

Jardiance sharply reduced chances of dying in diabetic patients at high risk of heart complications, a study shows, making the medication the first shown to lengthen diabetics' lives.

The daily pill for Type 2 diabetes reduced deaths from heart complications by 38 percent, deaths from any cause by 32 percent and hospitalizations due to chronic heart failure by 35 percent, according to the study by Jardiance makers Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular damage kill about half of Type 2 diabetes patients, as excess sugar in their blood steadily damages the heart and blood vessels.

Heart complications are the top cause of death in diabetics. For those who've already had a heart attack or stroke, the two diseases together shorten life expectancy by 12 years.