Abstract
Diabetes markedly increases the risk of coronary, cerebral and peripheral atherosclerosis and the clinical consequences of myocardial infarction, stroke, limb ischemia, and death. Aggressive medical management directed at optimizing glucose control, achieving normal blood pressure, correcting dyslipidemia, and inhibiting platelet function reduces the likelihood of these adverse cardiovascular events.
In patients with severe atherosclerosis, revascularization is often necessary to avert the risk of end-organ damage.