PREVENTION OF CORONARY HEART DISEASE IN THE METABOLIC SYNDROME AND DIABETES MELLITUS

The leading cause of death in patients with diabetes is cardiovascular disease. This fact has prompted the National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) to elevate diabetes to the status of a coronary heart disease risk equivalent. Furthermore, because persons with diabetes who experience a myocardial infarction have an unusually high death rate, either immediately or in the long term, ATP III calls for a more intensive prevention strategy. Several studies have demonstrated that people with diabetes and insulin resistance are more likely to experience dyslipidemia than nondiabetics. The focus of this article will be on the management of dyslipidemia and the metabolic syndrome in preventing coronary heart disease in patients with diabetes. (Advanced Studies in Medicine 2002;2(10):364-371)