health
Type 2 diabetes linked to higher risk of stroke, heart problems
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 4, 2011
Among patients who have had an ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, type 2 diabetes increases the risk of recurrent stroke or cardiovascular events, according to a study published online June 13 in Archives of Neurology.
Researchers examined data on 4,731 adults older than 18 who were enrolled in the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels trial and had an ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Patients had no known coronary heart disease.
Researchers found that at baseline, 16.8% of participants had type 2 diabetes and 13.6% had metabolic syndrome. The remaining patients had neither condition. The risk of stroke was 18.1% among those with type 2 diabetes compared with 10.7% in people with metabolic syndrome and 11% for individuals without either condition.
Diabetic patients were more likely than those without the condition to have a major cardiovascular incident or revascularization procedure, the study said. Treatment with statin medication reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events and revascularization procedures in participants with type 2 diabetes.
The study is online (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/07/04/hlbf0704.htm.
