Unpacking diabetes and the heart

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among people with diabetes, and approximately two thirds of cardiovascular deaths occur in people with diabetes or prediabetes in Australia.
 
People living with diabetes can be up to four times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke, often regarded as the risk equivalent to someone who has previously had a heart attack or stroke.
 
CVD risk is higher in people with a longer history of diabetes, microvascular complications and poor glycaemic control. Overall risk of death among people with type 2 diabetes is substantially higher in those younger than 55 years, even when glycaemic targets are met.
 
Cardiovascular risk prediction equations derived from contemporary diabetes populations, such as New Zealand’s PREDICT equation, may be required to better ascertain risk in the increasingly heterogenous diabetes population.
 
To keep up to date with the latest developments, GPs can register for a new webinar on Thursday 28 July – Unpacking diabetes & the heart: Latest on risk & management strategies – hosted by the Heart Foundation in partnership with the World Heart Federation and the Australian Diabetes Society.
 
Professor Rod Jackson, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Auckland and one of the architects of the PREDICT CVD risk prediction equation, will be presenting live on how to stratify CVD risk within a diabetes cohort. He will also explore how GPs can prioritise management for those at highest risk.
 
Newer glucose-lowering agents have shown significant reductions in some of the most critical macrovascular complications among people with diabetes, including a reduction in ischaemic events. Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have additionally shown reductions in heart failure hospitalisation, CVD death, and progression of chronic kidney disease, regardless of an individual’s diabetes status.
 
To speak to the latest evidence on newer glucose-lowering agents, Professor Richard O’Brien, consultant endocrinologist at Reservoir Private Hospital and Clinical Dean of Medicine at the University of Melbourne, will provide a much-needed update on diabetes pharmacological therapies and their cardiovascular benefits.
 
Based on results from several landmark studies, many international guidelines now recommend SGLT2 inhibitors for people with symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, regardless of the presence or absence of type 2 diabetes. Associate Professor Ingrid Hopper, general physician and clinical pharmacologist at Alfred Health, will join us to discuss the role of SGLT2 inhibitors in the treatment of heart failure.
 
There to provide practical advice and commentary on the clinical application of the evidence is Dr Roy Rasalam, GP at Townsville Family Medical Centre and co-author of the Management of type 2 diabetes: A handbook for general practice.
 
There will be an opportunity to take part in an interactive Q&A with the expert panellists. Don’t miss out – this 60-minute session is the next in Heart Foundation clinical webinar series, which attending GPs have previously described as having ‘the highest-quality/intensity/efficiency’.
 
This webinar is accredited by the RACGP for 2 CPD points (activity no. 355838).
 
Register now.
 
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