Men with type 2 diabetes taking insulin, but with no history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), have a higher risk of suffering a major cardiovascular event than men with a history of CVD, according to Brigham and Women’s Hospital research. The researchers examined records of 64,000 global REACH Registry patients and found that men taking insulin with no history of CVD had a 16 percent rate of major cardiovascular events over four years, compared to a rate of 13 percent among men with no diabetes but a history of CVD, and among women who had a history of CVD and are taking insulin for diabetes. Further, the researchers found that men without a CVD history who were taking insulin had a 70 percent higher risk of having a major cardiovascular event (death, heart attack, and stroke) compared to a 40 percent risk of having a recurrent event for men with CVD. Men taking insulin had a 40 percent higher risk than women did. "These findings suggest that both men and women with diabetes with severe insulin resistance (those patients requiring insulin) are at high risk for cardiovascular events, as high risk as patients who already have established cardiovascular disease," says lead investigator Jacob Udell. "Given that the number of patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes requiring insulin continues to increase, these patients require diligent cardiovascular risk factor management to potentially avoid a first cardiovascular event."
