The Cairo Cardiovascular Symposium held last week for medical practitioners highlighted patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus as being at high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD). According to data quoted from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, cardiovascular diseases were stressed as the most common and serious complication of diabetes, with heart disease and stroke causing almost 65 percent of all diabetes-related deaths. Additional risk factors for CVD include obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, physical inactivity and smoking. The full-day symposium was attended by physicians from across the region, discussing topics such as the high prevalence of diabetes in the Arab region, diabetes as a vascular disease, the cardiovascular risk management approach to diabetes, the Cost to Health Economics approach and the Effect of Statins in lowering the overall risk of CVD, with interactive case studies on how to apply knowledge in practice. Addressing the focus of the event, Dr. Mourad Elmourad, Consultant & Head of Diabetes & Endocrine Unit in Riyadh Medical Complex, Riyadh, said: “This symposium aims to examine the key factors that contribute to the high risk of cardiovascular disease in this region and explore the best long-term solutions to ensure a healthier life as soon as we can.” According to the International Diabetes Federation, the highest prevalence of diabetes among adults aged 20-79 is in the United Arab Emirates, followed by Saudi Arabia (23.7 percent), Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. Only the South Pacific Island of Nauru has higher levels than this region. In addition, the prevalence of hypertension in Egypt was found to be 26 percent compared to 26.3 percent in Kuwait, 32.1 percent in Qatar, 33 percent in Oman and 26.1 percent in Saudi Arabia. Elaborating on the risk management approach, Professor Peter Lansberg from the Academic Medical Center in Amesterdam, added: “High cholesterol is another major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and at this symposium we are discussing the benefits of using statins to reduce overall cardiovascular risk. Statins are a class of medications used to lower cholesterol levels in people with or at risk of cardiovascular disease.” For example, in the US, Lipitor (atorvastatin), one of the statins in the market, is FDA approved to treat adult patients with type 2 Diabetes, without clinically evident chronic heart disease, but with at least one other risk factor for heart disease such as high blood pressure, smoking or complications of Diabetes, including eye disease and protein in urine, to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. This is the same in Europe. Lipitor's efficacy and safety profile has been studied in over 400 ongoing and completed clinical studies involving more than 80,000 patients. In patients with type 2 diabetes without coronary heart disease and at least one other risk factor, Lipitor significantly reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events by 37 percent and the risk of stroke by up to 48 percent.
