The World Heart Federation, in partnership with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), has launched a new “roadmap” aimed at reducing the global burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people living with diabetes. The Roadmap on the prevention of cardiovascular disease among people living with diabetes is a key reference document for anyone involved in the planning, organisation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of approaches related to CVD prevention in people living with diabetes. It outlines a vision of an ideal pathway of care, potential roadblocks along this pathway, and proposed solutions, with examples from practice.

Rapid urbanization, unhealthy diets and increasingly sedentary lifestyles have resulted in fast-growing rates of obesity and diabetes, with an estimated 425 million people currently living with diabetes worldwide. Around 90 percent have type 2 diabetes. Alarmingly, the situation is set to deteriorate further in the coming decades, with the total number of people with diabetes predicted to increase to over 600 million by 2045. It is estimated that globally, up to 50 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are unaware of their condition. While diabetes is treatable, even when glucose levels are under control it greatly increases the risk of CVD. People with diabetes are 2 to 3 times more likely to have increased risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, myocardial infarction and angina pectoris compared to those without the condition. Prevention of CVD in people with diabetes is a necessity and strategies predominantly focus on lifestyle management and risk factor interventions.

The Roadmap draws on the expertise of diabetes expert clinicians, researchers, implementation science experts and people with diabetes from around the world. It presents an integrated approach to patient care, involving the patient perspective, healthcare system perspective and health policy perspective.

Laurence Sperling, Chair of the CVD and Diabetes Roadmap Writing Group explains, “We have identified important gaps in the care of people living with diabetes who are a high cardiovascular risk, and focused on priorities and key action areas to close these gaps. We also provide an ‘implementation toolkit’ for successful translation of the Roadmap to national and local initiatives, aiming to ensure that as many people living with diabetes as possible receive optimal preventive care and treatment. Our goal is to demonstrate how using this roadmap can help a broad base of stakeholders begin to tackle the problem and make a longstanding difference.”

Links

• Download the roadmap (pdf), originally published in Global Heart (vol. 14, no. 3, September 2019)
• Download the summary document (pdf)