Of the 16 million Americans who have diabetes, many of them also suffer from heart problems. To reduce the risk of death from heart disease and heart attack among the diabetic population, Saint Louis University School of Medicine is taking a major role in a nationwide study. These are two major risk factors for heart disease, which is responsible for 41 percent of all deaths in the United States. Rates of diabetes in the United States have increased by more than 30 percent in the past decade.
Heart disease is two to four times more common among people with diabetes.
Death rates from cardiovascular disease among diabetics are two to three times higher than those without diabetes. The investigators will test new treatment regimens and diabetic drugs to see if they can significantly reduce the incidence of cardiac events among diabetics. The study will also, for the first time, test early coronary revascularization, such as bypass surgery, in diabetics to determine if an early intervention reduces the incidence of major cardiac events, such as a heart attack. Dr. Chaitman and his team will work with the principal investigators and the data-coordinating center to establish definitions for cardiac events. In addition, there are now new markers, as well as new electrocardiograph criteria, to define a heart attack.