DIABETES AND VASCULAR DISEASE LINKED

With the global prevalence of diabetes rising, more diabetic patients are suffering from cardiovascular disease (CVD), a major complication of diabetes and the leading cause of early death among people with diabetes.

• Nearly 65 percent of people with diabetes die from heart disease and stroke.¹
• People with type 2 diabetes have a two-to-four-fold higher incidence of coronary artery disease and an approximately 10-fold increase in peripheral diseases than their non-diabetic counterparts.^{2, 3}
• High blood glucose in adults with diabetes increases the risk for heart attack, stroke and coronary artery disease.⁴
• People with type 2 diabetes also have elevated rates of high blood pressure, lipid problems and obesity, all of which contribute to high CVD rates.⁵

If you have diabetes, it’s important to manage your health wisely. Taking these steps⁶ based on your healthcare professionals’ recommendations can help you feel better today and in the future:

• Eat well. Make a diabetes meal plan with assistance from your healthcare team.
• Be active. Set a goal to be more active most days of the week.
• Stress can raise your blood sugar. Learn ways to lower your stress. Try deep breathing, gardening, taking a walk, meditating, working on your hobby or listening to your favorite music.
• Take your medicines for diabetes and any other health problems even when you feel good.

Abbott’s Commitment to Addressing Diabetes and Vascular Disease

Abbott is working to ensure physicians and patients have the tools they need to address both diabetes and vascular disease.

Abbott’s vascular products have demonstrated the ability to effectively address vascular conditions, including Abbott’s XIENCE⁷ family of drug eluting stents for treatment of coronary artery disease and the RX Herculink Elite^®8 renal stent, which has demonstrated efficacy and safety among people with renal artery (supplying blood to the kidneys) disease and uncontrolled hypertension.

Abbott offers a comprehensive portfolio of products that contribute to the pharmaceutical management of both cardiovascular disease and diabetes, including approved medications in each of three major CVD treatment categories: anti-arrhythmia, cholesterol-reducing and anti-hypertensive drugs.

• Our anti-hypertension portfolio provides a flexible and complementary range of treatments that enable physicians to tailor treatments matching patient’s specific clinical needs depending on their stage of disease and associated co-morbidities.
• Abbott’s fenofibrate (Lipanthyl/TriCor) is particularly relevant in lipid disorders found in type 2 diabetes. In Europe, fenofibrate is indicated in combination with a statin for patients at high cardiovascular risk whose triglycerides and HDL cholesterol are not adequately controlled with the statin alone.⁹ Fenofibrate is also approved in Australia to slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy for patients already affected by the disease,¹⁰ a major complication of type 2 diabetes, and is expected to be available for the same indication in other geographies pending regulatory approval.

Abbott markets a number of products to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of diabetes:

• Abbott's ARCHITECT systems and i-STAT feature various tests to monitor and manage diabetes in the hospital and laboratory settings.
• Abbott is a leader in developing glucose monitoring systems and software solutions designed to help people better manage their diabetes. Abbott’s FreeStyle line of blood glucose monitors¹¹ are easy-to-use, require small blood samples and provide fast and accurate test results.
• Abbott’s specialized food products such as shakes, meal bars and snack bars are designed to help people with diabetes minimize blood sugar spikes and get the nutrition they need. In the United States, Abbott recently introduced Glucerna^® Advance nutrition shakes to help minimize blood sugar spikes, while supporting heart health and the immune system.¹² Outside of the United States, Glucerna^® Triple Care is available in some markets, providing a unique system of ingredients to help patients manage their blood sugar response, as well as support heart health and weight management as part of an overall diabetes management plan.

For more information about this serious health issue, visit Abbott Recognizes World Diabetes Day.

Additional Information:

• About XIENCE Xpedition and XIENCE PRIME, including indications and important safety information, is available at www.xiencestent.com or http://www.abbottvascular.com/static/cms_workspace/pdf/ifu/coronary_intervention/eIFU_Xience_Xpedition.pdf and http://www.abbottvascular.com/static/cms_workspace/pdf/ifu/coronary_intervention/eIFU_XIENCE_PRIME_XIENCE_PRIME_LL.pdf.
• About XIENCE V, including the indication and important safety information, is available at http://www.abbottvascular.com/static/cms_workspace/pdf/ifu/coronary_intervention/eIFU_XIENCE_V_XIENCE_nano.pdf.
• About the RX Herculink Elite Renal Stent System, including the indication and important safety information, is available online at: http://www.abbottvascular.com/static/cms_workspace/pdf/ifu/RX_Herculink_Elite_Renal_Biliary_Stent_System.pdf.
• About Fenofibrate is available at http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/3719/SPC/Supralip+160mg/.
• About Fenofibrate in diabetic retinopathy is available at https://www.ebs.tga.gov.au/ebs/picmi/picmirepository.nsf/PICMI?OpenForm&t=pi&q=fenofibrate

FreeStyle brand of products are intended for testing outside the body (in vitro diagnostic use) as an aid to monitor the effectiveness of diabetes control. The products should not be used for the diagnosis of or screening for diabetes or for neonatal use.

Use under medical supervision as part of a diabetes management plan.

1 American Heart Association website. “Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes.” http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Diabetes/WhyDiabetesMatters/Cardiovascular-Disease-Diabetes_UCM_313865_Article.jsp. Accessed December 2012.
2 Karasu C. Glycoxidative stress and cardiovascular complications in experimentally-induced diabetes: effects of antioxidant treatment. Open Cardiovasc Med J. 2010;4:240-56. DOI:10.2174/1874192401004010240.
3 Ding H, Triggle CR. Endothelial cell dysfunction and the vascular complications associated with type 2 diabetes: assessing the health of the endothelium. Vasc Health Risk Manag 2005;1 (1):55-71.
4 Nathan DM, Cleary PA, Backlund JY, et al. Intensive diabetes treatment and cardiovascular disease in patients with type 1 diabetes. N Engl J Med. Dec 22 2005;353(25):26432653.
5 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. National diabetes statistics fact sheet: general information and national estimates on diabetes in the United States, 2005. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health; 2005.
6 National Diabetes Education Program. Four Steps to Manage Your Diabetes for Life. http://ndep.nih.gov/publications/PublicationDetail.aspx?PubId=4#page6. Accessed Dec. 20, 2013.