Cardiovascular risk assessment and screening in diabetes

Diabetes used to be considered as a coronary heart disease equivalence and universally classified high cardiovascular risk population. However increasing epidemiological evidence now indicates the heterogeneity of risk among the diabetic patients and imposes animportance of stratifying those with relative low-risk from high-risk ones. Despite the existing risk assessment tools, current cardivoascualr disease prevention guidelines fail to provide more detailed stratification strategies for patient with diabetes and expose them to either overtreatment or undertreatment. On the other hand, various screening modality, including novel biomarkers and subclinical asthrosclerosis scanning, including coronary calcium scanning, carotid intima-media thickness, myocardial perfusion imaging and coronary computed tomography angiography, have provided very promising usage is risk stratification. With better developed test techniques and more extensive evidence, these modalities may serve in standardized screening algorithm to improve the cardiovascular risk assessment of patients with diabetes and better instruct their individualized preventive therapy.