United States: CAD screening unnecessary for asymptomatic diabetics

Routine screening for coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetes patients with no symptoms of angina or a history of heart disease is unnecessary and may lead to more invasive and costly heart procedures like cardiac catheterization, stents, or bypass, new findings indicate. With each test costing about US$1000, "Routine screening would have tremendous economic implications and our findings did not indicate that routine stress testing had additional benefit in this population," Dr. Lawrence Young, one of the researchers, was quoted as saying. These patients can generally be managed effectively with preventive therapies such as lipid-lowering drugs, blood pressure medication, aspirin, and diabetes treatment, according to Dr. Young.
"Cardiac outcomes after screening for asymptomatic coronary artery disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. The DIAD Study: a randomized controlled trial"
JAMA 2009; 301(15): 1547-1555 (open access)
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/301/15/1547

Date Posted: 20 April 2009