How does the prognosis of diabetes compare with that of established vascular disease?
GROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. In a large, prospective, practice-based registry (the Vascular Protection Registry), we enrolled patients with vascular disease and/or diabetes, and compared the following features between diabetic and non-diabetic participants: (1) risk factor profiles, (2) utilization of cardioprotective medications, and (3) cardiovascular outcomes in short-term follow-up. METHODS: Patients were enrolled by participating physicians practicing in family medicine or specialty practices across Canada. The primary outcome was a composite of the first occurrence of any of the following vascular events: myocardial infarction, unstable angina, coronary revascularization, stroke, transient ischemic attack, or death. Patients were stratified according to the presence or absence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. RESULTS: In all, 3297 patients were available for analysis (972 [30%] with diabetes but no cardiovascu
