Myocardial perfusion imaging: a plus for coronary risk classification in diabetics.

摘要

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most common form of diabetes worldwide (>90%). Long-term complications of diabetes include microvascular and macrovascular damage. Life expectancy of patients with diabetes remains substantially shorter than that of individuals without diabetes, mainly because of coronary heart disease (CHD) [1]. However, CHD risk in patients with diabetes is highly variable and difficult to stratify by conventional clinical markers [2, 3]. Moreover, the early identification of CHD in diabetics is difficult due to its often silent or atypical presentation in this population. As a result, CHD in diabetics may be diagnosed several years after its onset, when the disease is in an advanced stage, frequently in the form of myocardial infarction (MI) or sudden cardiac death. To improve outcomes, common CHD risk factors should be assessed at least annually, along with the presence of micro- or macroalbuminuria, and be actively managed [4, 5].