Type 2 diabetes is a known risk factor for heart disease, and researchers thought that five years of really tight blood sugar control might reduce the risk of heart disease for years to come.
But a new 15-year follow-up study found that was not the case. The findings suggest it might be more important to control other risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and unhealthy weight.
“Glucose-lowering has a modest benefit, but it’s not enough by itself. We need to address all the other cardiovascular risk factors,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Peter Reaven. He’s a staff physician at Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System, in Arizona.
Reaven emphasized that these findings apply to this particular population — people who had type 2 diabetes for more than
