14 DAY TRIAL // The extent to which diabetes is tied to heart diseases apparently escaped even the most intricate studies. In a recent investigation, experts in the United States learned that diabetes patients exhibited calcium build-ups in their bodies that were indicators of impending heart attacks or strokes.
Scientists have known that diabetes elevates patients' risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and strokes. However, many of the mechanisms underlying these connections still remain hidden, primarily due to their complexity.
But the new study – by experts at the University of California in Irvine (UCI) Heart Disease Prevention Program – managed to identify such a mechanism. The team learned that people suffering from diabetes and metabolic syndrome had high levels of calcium in their coronary arteries.
According to the research group, this constitutes a very strong predictor for heart disease and stroke risks in this subgroup of the population. In an associated research, the team proved that diabetics without elevated coronary calcium levels were not at a higher risk of cardiovascular accidents.
This multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis was conducted on a sample of about 6,600 individuals, aged between 45 and 84. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided the necessary funds.
Of the study group, about 16 percent were diagnosed with diabetes – the vast majority with type 2 diabetes – while about 25 percent suffered from metabolic syndrome. The remaining group members were all healthy, and used as a control group.
“Our study points out that there’s a wide range in risk for cardiovascular consequences seen in persons with metabolic syndrome and diabetes and that screening of coronary calcium by heart scans – and, to a lesser extent, carotid arteries by ultrasound – may be helpful in picking out those most vulnerable,” Nathan Wong explains.
The expert holds an appointment as an UCI professor of medicine, and is also the director of the Heart Disease Prevention Program. Wong is the senior author of a new study detailing the findings, which is published in the October 2011 issue of medical journal Diabetes Care.
“Our findings also suggest that individuals with significantly high levels of coronary calcium or carotid wall thickness should receive more aggressive monitoring and treatment for any associated risk factors,” UCI cardiologist and study coauthor Dr. Shaista Malik concludes.