Diabetes, Heart Associations Align Fight Against Heart Disease

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 31 Dec 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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In a joint statement released today, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and American Heart Association (AHA) summarize the evidence supporting lifestyle and medical interventions that can help to prevent the development of heart disease in people with diabetes.

The statement, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association's clinical research journal Diabetes Care, outlines joint guidelines from the organizations that encourage more aggressive prevention and treatment of the risk factors that lead to heart disease, the number one killer of people with diabetes.

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 drugs to manage lipids, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels in people with diabetes. The recommendations apply equally to people 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 people 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," said John Buse, M.D., Ph.D., President-Elect, Medicine & Science, American Diabetes Association, Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and co- author of the joint statement.

"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. 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."

"We must practice primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes," said Henry Ginsberg, M.D., F.A.H.A., Irving Professor of Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and co-author for the American Heart Association. "Once a person with diabetes has a heart attack or stroke, they do much worse than people without diabetes; 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. Both associations have been very active in educating healthcare professionals about the links between diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and so 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."

People 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.

Diabetes Care, published by the American Diabetes Association, is the leading peer-reviewed journal of clinical research into the nation's fifth leading cause of death by disease. Diabetes also is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke, as well as the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney failure and non-traumatic amputations. For more information about diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association Web site http://www.diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).

Circulation:

Journal of the American Heart Association is the world's leading journal of cardiovascular medicine. It is unparalleled in its reach and depth of reporting on original contributions of scientific excellence relevant to cardiovascular disease and presents peer-reviewed reports on clinical and laboratory research relevant to cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of Americans. For more information on cardiovascular disease, visit http://www.americanheart.org or call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or 1-800-242-8721.

About the organizations:

The American Diabetes Association is the nation's premier voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the Association's mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. The Association's commitment to research is reflected through its scientific meetings; education and provider recognition programs; and its Research Foundation and Nationwide Research Program, which fund breakthrough studies looking into the cure, prevention, and treatment of diabetes and its complications. Visit the American Diabetes Association at http://www.diabetes.org or call 1-800- DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).

Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association today is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to reducing disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke. These diseases, America's No. 1 and No. 3 killers, claim more than 910,000 lives a year. In fiscal year 2004-05 the association invested over $473 million in research, professional and public education, advocacy and community service programs to help all Americans live longer, healthier lives. To learn more, call 1-800- AHA-USA1 or visit http://www.americanheart.org.

American Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.org