The study also showed that diabetic patients with increased levels of C-reactive protein, or CRP, had more than 13 times the risk of death or heart attack than similar patients with the lowest CRP levels. CRP levels are measured through blood tests that detect the substance. CRP is a marker for inflammation and can be used to predict adverse events after coronary procedures. Clopidogrel is a an anti-clotting drug that has been compared with aspirin in studies evaluating the drugs' ability to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack for patients with heart disease and has shown particular benefit for patients with diabetes. Approximately 16 million Americans have diabetes and approximately 798,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Cardiovascular disease is two to four times more common among people with diabetes.
Cleveland Clinic researchers analyzed the CRP levels in 361 patients with diabetes who required angioplasties or stents to treat cardiovascular disease. Patients were divided into three groups based on CRP levels and then researchers used blood tests to check for rates of heart attack. They also checked for death within 30 days of the procedure. The 30-day rate of death or heart attack in diabetic patients was 9.4 percent. The people with the lowest CRP level had no deaths or heart attack.