October 4, 2012 | BOSTON, MA

Experts Join Forces to Improve Care for People with Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease CardioMetabolic Health Alliance to address high-risk groups

An estimated 47 million people in the U.S. are living with cardiometabolic disorders, putting them at an increased risk of developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes. To underscore the importance of prevention, members from the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the National Minority Quality Forum (the Forum), and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) will meet for the first time at the Cardiometabolic Health Congress in Boston (October 10-13) to discuss ways to improve cardiometabolic risk factor control in diverse populations and to provide more effective and coordinated care for people with cardiometabolic disorders. Cardiometabolic disorders represent a cluster of interrelated risk factors including high blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity (waist circumference) and elevated triglycerides.

“Prevention is an underutilized strategy,” said ACC President William Zoghbi, M.D., FACC. “Cardiovascular risk assessment and intervention among people with type 2 diabetes has never been more imperative than it is right now. Type 2 diabetes affects almost one in 10 U.S. adults and approximately 230 million people worldwide.”

The main cause for morbidity and mortality in this high-risk population is coronary artery disease (CAD). There is a two- to four-fold increased risk for CAD and its complications compared with the non-diabetic population, accounting for up to 75 percent of diabetes-related deaths.

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About The Forum

The National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, non-partisan, independent research and education organization. The vision of NMQF is a health services research, delivery and financing system that provides quality and effective health services to the biodiverse American general population of the 21st century. NMQF helps assure that national and local quality improvement initiatives are informed by scientific evidence, and place a priority on the quality of care and patient outcomes in all populations.

Media Contact

Gretchen C. Wartman, VP Policy and Program

gwartman@nmqf.org | 202.223.7560