Assessment and Treatment of Cardiometabolic Risk in Adults at Risk for or with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Cardiometabolic risk (CMR) refers to the collective consideration of traditional and emerging risk factors that amplify the potential of developing atherogenic cardiovascular disease, as well as the emergence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Cumulative data suggest that the metabolic syndrome confers a 5-fold increase in risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus and also increases the cardiovascular risk calculated by conventional algorithms by an additional 1.5- to 2.0-fold. This article is a summary of the recently published position article on cardiometabolic risk by the nationally represented inter-disciplinary Cardiometabolic Risk Working Group (Can J Cardiol. 2011;27:e1–e33). The objective of this article is to review what the emerging risk factors are, how to determine if individuals at risk for or with type 2 diabetes mellitus have elevated CMR and the steps that should be taken to optimally manage and reduce CMR in these patients.