High awareness of diabetes as a key cardiovascular risk factor among healthcare professionals but suboptimal treatment: Results from a survey of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology

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Currently, more than 400 m people worldwide are affected by diabetes mellitus and the prevalence is expected to exceed 600 m people by 2045, which is particularly due to the rise in the number of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).¹ Patients with T2DM have twice the risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease (CVD), which contributes to a significantly elevated mortality rate compared to people without T2DM.² Early detection and a multifactorial treatment approach aiming at prevention of micro- and macrovascular complications, are key factors in the care of people with T2DM.³ However, successful detection and treatment starts with a proper awareness by healthcare professionals. Therefore, the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) initiated a survey, conducted in 2019 in the framework of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/EAPC Diabetes and CVD educational programme, with the aim of assessing this awareness and implementation of preventive strategies for diabetes among healthcare professionals across a selection of European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom) as well as Brazil. In total, full surveys from 400 respondents (±38% female, most often aged between 36–55 years) were collected, within which most participants reported ‘preventive cardiology’, ‘coronary artery disease – acute cardiac care’, ‘heart failure’, ‘hypertension’ or ‘imaging’ as their main area of specialism.