Some diabetics may improve their cardiovascular health if they tightly control their glucose levels, according to several recent clinical trials.

However, intensive control of blood sugar levels does little good for those with diabetes who already suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system, and may even increase the risk of death.

Complex Relationship Between Blood Sugar Levels and Cardiovascular System
Those who suffer from diabetes have 20 times the risk of heart attack and stroke for every one percent rise in blood sugar levels. Therefore, it has long been assumed that lowering a patient's blood sugar levels would improve cardiovascular health.

However, recent trials showed that the relationship between the cardiovascular system and the health of diabetics is complicated.

During these trials, patients with diabetes were put into groups. Patients in one group aimed for blood sugar levels of seven to eight percent, while another group aimed for six to seven percent.

All of the trials showed that aiming for normal blood sugar levels through intense glucose control reduced the incidence of heart attack and stroke by about 15 percent.

However, reducing blood sugar levels below seven percent did not improve cardiovascular health for those who have had diabetes symptoms for more than 20 years, for those who are taking insulin, or for those who already have cardiovascular issues.

Not only did intensive glucose control appear to do little or no good for these patients, the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes trial was aborted due to unexpectedly high death rates.

Doctors Stress the Need for Individualized Treatment of Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association states that seven percent is a conservative goal for blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes. However, doctors stress the need for individualized treatment.

Doctors should set lower goals for blood sugar levels for younger patients or those with healthy cardiovascular systems. These patients can reduce their risk of dying from all causes by lowering their glucose, according to Dr. Sheldon Greenfield who led a study at UC Irvine.

In addition, goals should be less aggressive for older diabetes patients who already have unhealthy cardiovascular systems, as the benefits from intense glucose control are slight while the risks are high. Intense control of glucose levels may be too much for these patients to handle, and aiming for normal blood sugar levels may cause low blood sugar or affect quality of life.