Diabetics' heart attacks double in decade

Published on Wednesday 5 March 2008 20:54

THE number of heart attacks suffered by diabetics has doubled in the past decade, research suggests.

A study found that Type 2 diabetes accounted for 7.2 per cent of hospital admissions for heart attacks in 1996-7, rising to 13.9 per cent in 2005-6, while the number of attacks among diabetics rose from 5,861 to 12,824.

This corresponded with a rise in the number of people living with diagnosed Type 2 diabetes in the UK, from about 1.2 million in 1996 to about 1.9m in 2005-6.

Experts expressed fears over increasing healthcare costs and the increasing problem of obesity, which is linked to Type 2.

Researchers studied the hospital records of 2.8 million cardiovascular "events" and 600,000 cardiovascular operations in England. The findings were presented yesterday at Diabetes UK's annual professional conference in Glasgow.

Christopher Millett, public health consultant at Imperial College, London, who was involved in the research, said: "These figures provide a stark warning about the growing burden of the diabetes epidemic on the National Health Service."