Effects of Metformin on Postprandial Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, Gastric Emptying, GLP-1, and Prevalence of Postprandial Hypotension in Type 2 Diabetes: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study.

Postprandial hypotension (PPH) occurs frequently in type 2 diabetes. Metformin has cardiovascular effects independent of its glucose-lowering capacity, which may modulate the risk of PPH. We investigated the effects of metformin on postprandial blood pressure, including PPH events, heart rate, glucose, insulin, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), and gastric emptying, in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Metformin attenuated postprandial decrease in blood pressure and reduced PPH events, in association with augmentation of plasma GLP-1, slowed gastric emptying, and increased heart rate, in type 2 diabetes. These findings establish novel cardiovascular effects of metformin that may mitigate the risk of PPH in type 2 diabetes.