Primary and secondary prevention strategy for cardiovascular disease in diabetes mellitus

Abstract

The majority of individuals with diabetes die from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and related complications. The risk of CVD is 2 to 4 fold greater in diabetes and largely magnified by co-morbidities that aggregate along with it. Sufficient evidence-based data now exist to support multifactorial risk intervention with specific targets for goal-directed therapy for both primary and secondary prevention. These interventions have shown survival benefit in addition to prevention of vascular complications. Prevention of diabetes and delaying its onset should also be an important aspect in future health care strategy and research to confront the oncoming tsunami of CVD related to diabetes.