[Diabetes and cardiovascular complications].

The prevalence of obesity and diabetes is increasing dramatically. Currently, 800,000 patients are suffering from diabetes mellitus in Austria. Chronic hyperglycemia results in micro- and macrovascular complications, which reduce life expectancy up to 8 years. Furthermore, diabetes is among the most important risk factors for premature atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. The incidence of coronary artery disease in diabetics is relatively high with about 146 cases per 10,000 patient years. Apart, it could be demonstrated that the presence of diabetes mellitus worsens the prognosis after an acute coronary syndrome. Considering ischemic stroke, the situation is nearly the same, as it is known that diabetes mellitus increases the risk for ischemic stroke events up to 5 times. Beside the macrovascular complications, microvascular complications like diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy and diabetic neuropathy also play a critical role. Retinopathy can be detected in nearly every patient after a diabetes duration of 20 years. Diabetic nephropathy, which is a major complication of diabetes mellitus, accounts for 19% of end stage renal disease. Microalbuminuria, which is an early marker of diabetic nephropathy, can be found in 30% of the patients after 10 years of diabetes. Due to the severity of the diabetic complications an early intensified antidiabetic treatment is highly important for the prevention of micro- and macrovascular events.