REWINDING SUGAR, SAVING HEARTS

Prediabetes, long seen as a warning stage before diabetes, may hold the key to dramatically lowering the risk of deadly heart conditions, if it is truly reversed. A new international study reveals that people who successfully bring their blood sugar levels back to normal can slash their risk of serious heart problems by nearly 60 per cent.

Published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, the research shows that achieving remission from prediabetes, rather than merely managing it, significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalisation due to heart failure. Those who reversed prediabetes recorded a 58 per cent lower risk of fatal heart events or heart failure admissions.

What makes the findings striking is their long-term impact. Researchers from King’s College London found that the protective effect persisted decades after blood glucose levels were normalised, suggesting a lasting metabolic reset rather than a temporary benefit.

The study questions one of modern preventive medicine’s most widely accepted ideas that lifestyle changes alone are enough to protect prediabetic patients from heart disease.

“For years, people with prediabetes have been told that weight loss, exercise and healthy eating will prevent heart attacks and early death,” said lead author Dr Andreas Birkenfeld of King’s College London and University Hospital Tuebingen. “While these changes are undoubtedly important, evidence shows they do not significantly reduce heart attacks or mortality in prediabetes.”

Instead, the research suggests that true remission, marked by normal blood sugar regulation, is what delivers meaningful cardiovascular protection.

Prediabetes occurs when blood glucose levels are elevated but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Previous studies showed that even intensive lifestyle interventions often failed to reduce cardiovascular disease, despite delaying the onset of diabetes.

This new evidence indicates why: postponing diabetes alone is not enough. Without deeper metabolic correction, the heart remains at risk.

Researchers now argue that prediabetes remission deserves to be treated as a major preventive goal—on par with lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol and quitting smoking.

“These findings suggest remission of prediabetes could emerge as a fourth cornerstone of heart disease prevention,” Dr Birkenfeld said. “One that genuinely prevents heart attacks, heart failure and premature death.”

As global rates of prediabetes continue to rise, the message is clear: managing blood sugar is no longer enough. Reversing it may be the real lifesaver.