Debunking the Myth of Diabetes Mellitus as Cardiovascular Disease Equivalent: What Took So Long?

AbstractPurpose of ReviewIndividuals with diabetes mellitus (DM) have historically been reported to have the same risk of having a future myocardial infarction (MI) as an individual with known coronary heart disease (CHD). In other words, DM has been widely accepted as a coronary heart disease (CHD) equivalent. We review the literature that established DM as a CHD risk equivalent and how over time it has become clear that DM carries a spectrum of risk.Recent FindingsNewer studies suggest that DM is heterogeneous, with certain subgroups such as women, those with longer duration of DM, and increased severity of disease may be more susceptible to downstream complications and cardiovascular events than those in other subgroups. The use of coronary artery calcium scoring for risk stratification in this group has now been shown to have clinical utility.SummaryDM surely does infer increased risk of developing coronary heart disease upon an individual; however, this risk is not as high as historically presumed. Certain subgroups among the DM population may have a higher risk of CHD when identified by burden of subclinical disease; these individuals can be identified early to begin personalized management of their disease.
Source: Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research