Diabetes
and Heart Groups Fight against Heart Disease
Two groups, the American Diabetes
Association (ADA) and the American Heart Association
(AHA), are working together to show evidence supporting lifestyle
and medical interventions that can help to prevent the development of heart
disease in persons with diabetes.
The statement was published in Circulation:
Journal of the American Heart Association and the American
Diabetes Association journal, Diabetes
Care.
Joint guidelines from the two organizations encourage more
aggressive prevention and treatment of the risk factors that lead to heart
disease, the number one cause of death for persons with diabetes.
Persons with diabetes are two to four times as likely as
those in the general population to suffer cardiac events or stroke.
They are also far less likely to survive a cardiac event
should one occur, than someone who does not have diabetes. But their risk can
be reduced, and these guidelines provide the needed information.
Traditional lifestyle changes for people with diabetes have
focused on weight loss.
These new joint guidelines emphasize a need for major interventions
that more significantly reduce CVD risk factors.
It continues to cite the importance of achieving a healthy
lifestyle, based on increased physical activity, medical nutrition therapy,
and weight control.
In addition, the statement calls for increased medical interventions,
such as the use of statins, ACE inhibitors, and other medications to manage
lipids, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels in persons with diabetes.
The recommendations apply equally to persons with type 1
and type 2 diabetes.
These joint guidelines are part of an ongoing effort by
the two organizations to coordinate efforts in the fight against cardiovascular
disease, which affects two out of three persons with diabetes.
"Diabetes is a deadly disease, but the truth is that most
people who have it will actually die from heart disease, its most common and
too often fatal complication," says Dr. John Buse, president-elect for medicine
and science at the ADA.
"Thanks to decades of research, we now know quite a bit
about how to lower the risk for heart disease - whether you have diabetes or
not,” says Dr. Buse. “But these risk factors often aren't treated
aggressively enough, and the people who are living with diabetes aren't benefiting
from this knowledge.
“We hope this joint statement will encourage physicians
to put this knowledge to use in a more consistent manner," he says.
Dr. Henry Ginsberg, at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Columbia University in New York City, says, "We must practice
primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes.
"Once a person with diabetes has a heart attack or stroke,
they do much worse than people without diabetes,” says Dr. Ginsberg.
“If you have diabetes and have a heart attack, you
don't do as well after a stent or after bypass surgery, and your chance of
dying in the next 12 months is much higher," explains Dr. Ginsberg. “Both
associations have been very active in educating healthcare professionals about
the links between diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
“It was natural for us to join forces and provide
a comprehensive review of the evidence, and guidelines based on that evidence,
for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in our patients with diabetes," he
concludes.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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