Dyslipidemia Associated With Diabetes and Insulin Resistance Syndromes

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes is a coronary heart disease (CHD) risk equivalent, which means that the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes confers the same risk for CHD over a 10-yr period as a prior cardiovascular event. In addition to having markedly increased risk of CHD, patients with type 2 diabetes have much worse outcomes after a major cardiovascular event. Patients with diabetes who suffer a myocardial infarction (MI) have a 50% increased in-hospital mortality and a twofold increase in mortality 2 yr after the event (1,2). Data from large epidemiological studies show that 70% of patients with type 2 diabetes will die of some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The accelerated atherosclerosis seen among patients with type 2 diabetes begins years to decades before the diagnosis of diabetes.