IDF and Novo Nordisk launch first-ever global survey on cardiovascular disease awareness among people with type 2 diabetes

To mark World Heart Day, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has partnered with Novo Nordisk to launch the first-ever multi-country online survey investigating the level of CVD awareness and knowledge among people living with type 2 diabetes.

The global survey – Taking Diabetes to Heart – is available in multiple languages until March 2018, and people with type 2 diabetes are encouraged to participate.

Cardiovascular disease, which includes stroke, coronary heart disease and peripheral artery disease,2 is one of the leading causes of death in people with type 2 diabetes,1,3 and as the number of people with diabetes continues to increase,4 the outlook for CVD becomes even more alarming, Novo Nordisk said in its press release on Friday.

“The world is facing rising prevalence and incidence of cardiovascular disease among people with type 2 diabetes, due to limited knowledge on prevention, poor access to timely diagnosis, inappropriate treatment and insufficiently informed self-management. Taking Diabetes to Heart is a global effort to tackle the underlying issues behind diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, their escalating costs to societies, and to support cost-effective interventions that can help reduce the current burden that they represent,” said Dr Shaukat Sadikot, IDF president.

“It is concerning that cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes when many of these patients are unaware of this risk,” said Alan Moses, senior vice president and chief medical officer of Novo Nordisk.

Taking Diabetes to Heart will culminate in a comprehensive report with country-specific results and resources to help support knowledge and awareness of CVD among people with type 2 diabetes around the world.