Prediabetes Can Increase Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: What You Can Do

•    Researchers say prediabetes can increase the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke.
•    They say that many times there are no warning signs for these heart-related incidents.
•    They recommend people maintain a heart-healthy diet and get sufficient exercise to keep blood sugar levels in normal ranges.
Prediabetes may sound harmless, but new research warns that it’s not a benign condition.
The link between type 2 diabetes and heart disease is well established. But prediabetes also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
“In general, we tend to treat prediabetes as no big deal,” Dr. Adrian Michel, the study’s lead author, said in a press release. Michel, an internal medicine resident at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, will present the research May 16 at the American College of Cardiology’s 70th Annual Scientific Session.
“But we found that prediabetes itself can significantly boost someone’s chance of having a major cardiovascular event, even if they never progress to having diabetes. Instead of preventing diabetes, we need to shift focus and prevent prediabetes,” he said.