Why Heart Disease Remains a Major Health Concern for People with Type 1 Diabetes

People living with Type 1 diabetes face a sobering reality: they are at high risk for cardiovascular disease—heart attack, stroke, and related complications—even when their blood sugar is well controlled. This risk persists despite the significant improvements in insulin delivery systems, glucose monitoring, and diabetes management over recent decades.

Jonathan Rosen, Ph.D., Director of Research at Breakthrough T1D, highlights that the link between Type 1 diabetes and cardiovascular disease often goes overlooked. Unlike the well-documented cardiovascular risks in Type 2 diabetes, this connection in Type 1 diabetes has received less attention from researchers and treatment developers.

Currently, the therapeutic toolkit for reducing cardiovascular risk in Type 1 diabetes is limited. In the United States and Europe, people with Type 1 diabetes can access blood pressure medications and lipid-lowering drugs such as statins to help lower their risk of heart disease.

However, these are general cardiovascular therapies—not treatments specifically designed for or tested in the Type 1 diabetes population. This gap between the need and available options has prompted researchers and organizations to call for more targeted solutions.

One promising avenue of exploration involves drugs originally developed for Type 2 diabetes. GLP-1 receptor agonists and dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists have shown multiple benefits in Type 2 diabetes, including weight loss, improved glucose control, and reductions in markers of kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.

Researchers are investigating whether these medications might also help people with Type 1 diabetes, though important questions remain about safety and effectiveness in this population. Larger clinical trials are currently underway or planned to test these drugs in Type 1 diabetes. To date, these medications have not received regulatory approval specifically for Type 1 diabetes use, partly because existing studies have been small and inconsistent in their findings.

In November 2025, Breakthrough T1D, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Europe, and the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) co-hosted an international event in Brussels titled "Type 1 Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease: From Data to Solutions." The gathering brought together researchers, clinicians, and other stakeholders to address a critical concern: the shortage of therapies designed specifically to prevent cardiovascular disease in people with Type 1 diabetes.

The discussion covered where current research stands, what evidence gaps exist, and how the global diabetes community might work together to develop better solutions. The message was clear: addressing cardiovascular disease in Type 1 diabetes requires sustained research investment, collaboration across organizations, and a commitment to understanding why people with Type 1 diabetes face this heightened risk and how it can be reduced.

Origin: breakthrought1d.org (News report). Evidence: News report, corroborated with 1 indexed study. Type1Cure is an information and intelligence hub, not a medical advice service. This article summarizes published research and does not provide diagnosis, treatment, or personal medical guidance. Always talk to your own care team before changing anything about your Type 1 diabetes management.