In a recent study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers found that nearly 30% of patients with coronary artery disease have diabetes
That compares to a diabetes prevalence of around 9% in the general population.
They also found there was wide geographical variation, with 60% of heart disease patients in Gulf countries having diabetes compared to 20% in Europe.
The study is from Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital in France. One author is Dr. Emmanuelle Vidal-Petiot.
In the study, the team examined 32,694 patients with chronic coronary syndromes from 45 countries in Europe, Asia, America, the Middle East, Australia, and Africa. Patients were enrolled from 2009 to 2010 and followed up yearly for five years.
The researchers compared the likelihood of poor outcomes in those with diabetes compared to those without.
They found that among patients with stable coronary heart disease, those with diabetes had a 38% higher rate of death during the five-year follow-up.
They also had a 28% higher risk of the combined outcome of heart attack, stroke, or death from a cardiovascular cause.
Heart patients with diabetes had worse outcomes than those without diabetes regardless of geographic region and ethnicity.
The team says diabetes was linked to worse outcomes even in areas with the lowest prevalence. In Europe, for instance, diabetes was linked with a 29% greater risk of the combined outcome of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death.
This indicates that the management of these very high-risk patients with heart disease and diabetes should be improved. Each country needs to identify these patients and provide tailored educational and prevention programs.
They also say the importance of healthy eating and living cannot be overemphasized.
Everyone can lower their chances of developing diabetes with weight control and exercise, and early detection is needed so that blood sugar can be controlled.
Those with heart disease and diabetes also need an active lifestyle and a good diet to protect their health. Avoiding smoking is crucial, as is controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
If you care about diabetes and your health, please read studies about what to do if you have diabetes and need to lose weight and findings of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may increase risk of type 2 diabetes.
For more information about diabetes prevention and treatment, please see recent studies about this eating habit may protect against type 2 diabetes and results showing a new and safe treatment for type 2 diabetes.
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