Addressing Cardiovascular Risk in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Focus on Primary Care

Type 2 diabetes is a disorder of glucose and lipid metabolism associated with increased risk of macrovascular and microvascular complications. The primary focus of treating type 2 diabetes is glycemic control; simultaneous management of cardiometabolic risk factors, including blood pressure, lipid profile and overweight/obesity, has been shown to improve outcomes. All patients with diabetes require individualized combination therapy including diet and exercise intervention to help prevent microvascular and macrovascular complications. Because primary care physicians in the United States provide the majority of care for patients with type 2 diabetes, this article discusses the management of cardiovascular risk with a specific focus on primary care. In addition, mechanisms by which existing and novel antidiabetes therapies may modulate the metabolic pathways and a review of the benefits of cardiovascular risk reduction using multifactorial, primary care-focused intervention strategies will be discussed. Finally, early- and late-stage disease management strategies are discussed.