Fernando Alfonso1, Karlen Adamyan2, Jean-Yves Artigou3, Michael Aschermann4, Michael Boehm5, Alfonso Buendia6, Pao-Hsien Chu7, Ariel Cohen8, Livio Dei Cas9, Mirza Dilic10, Anton Doubell11, Dario Echeverri12, Nuray Enç13, Ignacio Ferreira-González14, Krzysztof J. Filipiak15, Andreas Flammer16, Eckart Fleck17, Plamen Gatzov18, Carmen Ginghina19, Lino Goncalves20, Habib Haouala21, Mahmoud Hassanein22, Gerd Heusch23, Kurt Huber24, Ivan Hulín25, Mario Ivanusa26, Rungroj Krittayaphong27, Chu-Pak Lau28, Germanas Marinskis29, François Mach30, Luiz Felipe Moreira31, Tuomo Nieminen32, Latifa Oukerraj33, Stefan Perings34, Luc Pierard35, Tatjana Potpara36, Walter Reyes-Caorsi37, Se-Joong Rim38, Olaf Rødevand39, Georges Saade40, Mikael Sander41, Evgeny Shlyakhto42, Bilgin Timuralp43, Dimitris Tousoulis44, Dilek Ural45, J. J. Piek46, Albert Varga47, Thomas F. Lüscher48 on behalf of the Editors’ Network European Society of Cardiology Task Force 1 Chairman Editors ́Network; 2 Editor in Chief Armenian Journal of Cardiology; 3 Editor in Chief Archives des maladies du cœur et des vaisseaux Pratique; 4 Editor in Chief Cor et Vasa; 5 Editor in Chief Clinical Research in Cardiology; 6 Editor in Chief Archivos de Cardiologia de Mexico; 7 Editor in Chief Acta Cardiologica Sinica; 8 Editor in Chief Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases; 9 Editor in Chief Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine; 10 Editor in Chief Medicinski Zurnal; 11 Editor in Chief SA Heart; 12 Editor in Chief Revista Colombiana de Cardiologia; 13 Editor in Chief Kardiyovaskuler Hemsirelik Dergisi; 14 Editor in Chief Revista Española de Cardiología; 15 Editor in Chief Kardiologia Polska; 16 Editor in Chief Cardiovascular Medecine; 17 Editor in Chief Cardio News; 18 Editor in Chief Bulgarian Journal of Cardiology; 19 Editor in Chief Romanian Journal of Cardiology; 20 Editor in Chief Revista Portuguesa de Cardiologia; 21 Editor in Chief Cardiologie Tunisienne; 22 Editor in Chief The Egyptian Heart Journal; 23 Editor in Chief Basic Research in Cardiology; 24 Editor in Chief Austrian Journal of Cardiology; 25 Editor in Chief Cardiology Letters; 26 Editor in Chief Cardiologia Croatica; 27 Editor in Chief Thai Heart Journal; 28 Editor in Chief Journal of the Hong Kong Colleage of Cardiology; 29 Editor in Chief Seminars in Cardiovascular Medicine; 30 Editor in Chief Cardiovascular Medecine; 31 Editor in Chief Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia; 32 Editor in Chief Sydänääni (Heart Beat); 33 Editor in Chief La Revue Marocaine de Cardiologie; 34 Editor in Chief Der Kardiologie; 35 Editor in Chief Acta Cardiologica; 36 Editor in Chief Heart and Blood Vessels; 37 Editor in Chief Revista Uruguaya de Cardiologia; 38 Editor in Chief Korean Circulation Journal; 39 Editor in Chief Hjerteforum; 40 Editor in Chief Heart News; 41 Editor in Chief Cardiologisk Forum; 42 Editor in Chief Russian Journal of Cardiology; 43 Editor in Chief Anatolian Journal of Cardiology; 44 Editor in Chief Hellenic Journal of Cardiology; 45 Editor in Chief Archives of the Turkish Society of Cardiology; 46 Editor in Chief Netherlands Heart Journal; 47 Editor in Chief Cardiologia Hungarica; 48 Editor in Chief European Heart Journal

BackgroundIn order to influence every day clinical practice professional organisations issue management guidelines. Cross-sectional surveys are used to evaluate the implementation of such guidelines. The present survey investigated screening for glucose perturbations in people with coronary artery disease and compared patients with known and newly detected type 2 diabetes with those without diabetes in terms of their life-style and pharmacological risk factor management in relation to contemporary European guidelines.MethodsA total of 6187 patients (18–80 years) with coronary artery disease and known glycaemic status based on a self reported history of diabetes (previously known diabetes) or the results of an oral glucose tolerance test and HbA1c (no diabetes or newly diagnosed diabetes) were investigated in EUROASPIRE IV including patients in 24 European countries 2012–2013. The patients were interviewed and investigated in order to enable a comparison between their actual risk factor control with that recommended in current European management guidelines and the outcome in previously conducted surveys.ResultsA total of 2846 (46 %) patients had no diabetes, 1158 (19 %) newly diagnosed diabetes and 2183 (35 %) previously known diabetes. The combined use of all four cardioprotective drugs in these groups was 53, 55 and 60 %, respectively. A blood pressure target of <140/90 mmHg was achieved in 68, 61, 54 % and a LDL-cholesterol target of <1.8 mmol/L in 16, 18 and 28 %. Patients with newly diagnosed and previously known diabetes reached an HbA1c <7.0 % (53 mmol/mol) in 95 and 53 % and 11 % of those with previously known diabetes had an HbA1c >9.0 % (>75 mmol/mol). Of the patients with diabetes 69 % reported on low physical activity. The proportion of patients participating in cardiac rehabilitation programmes was low (≈40 %) and only 27 % of those with diabetes had attended diabetes schools. Compared with data from previous surveys the use of cardioprotective drugs had increased and more patients were achieving the risk factor treatment targets.ConclusionsDespite advances in patient management there is further potential to improve both the detection and management of patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease.