Type 2 diabetes is associated with a marked increase in the risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease. Diabetic individuals without prior myocardial infarction (MI) have as high a CV risk as nondiabetic individuals with previous MI.

In a Finnish population-based cohort, the 7-year incidences of fatal or nonfatal MI, fatal or nonfatal stroke, and death from CV causes among 1373 nondiabetic subjects were compared with the incidences among 1059 subjects with type 2 diabetes.
Both the presence of diabetes and the history of a previous MI at baseline were associated with an increased incidence of CV events.
Diabetic subjects without prior MI had as high a CV risk as nondiabetic subjects with previous MI.

References

Haffner SM, Lehto S, Ronnemaa T, et al. Mortality from coronary heart disease in subjects with type 2 diabetes and in nondiabetic subjects with and without prior myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 1998;339:229-234.