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People with a fasting
blood sugar level of 100-125 mg/dl had an adjusted nearly 300% increase
higher risk of having coronary heart disease than people with a
level below 79 mg/dl. This information was compiled from a cross-sectional
study of nearly 2500 people.
A fasting blood sugar
level of more than 125 mg/dl is the current threshold for identifying
patients with diabetes. But the new finding suggests that patients
with high levels of blood sugar in the nondiabetic range face a
substantial risk of coronary heart disease.
The Cleveland Clinic
Foundation now uses a fasting blood sugar of 90 mg/dl or higher
as a biomarker of coronary heart disease risk. The Cleveland Clinic
gets very concerned when they someone with a fasting blood sugar
above 90 mg/dl. They try to intervene with exercise, diet and weight
control.
The previous cutoff of
125 mg/dl was based on the incidence of diabetic retionopathy, but
physicians now increasingly focus on the diabetes-related risk of
coronary heart disease. As evidence continues to grow in this area
it is likely the definition of diabetes will change.
Annual
Meeting American College of Cardiology reported by Family Practice
News May 1, 2002 page 4a
American
Journal Cardiology March 2002(1);89(5):596-9
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