New research shows that bringing blood sugar back to normal levels can sharply lower the risk of serious heart problems in people with prediabetes. A large analysis of long-term data found that those who reversed prediabetes had much lower rates of heart-related death and hospitalizations for heart failure. These benefits lasted for decades after blood sugar levels returned to normal.
The findings stand out because earlier studies showed that lifestyle changes alone — such as weight loss, exercise or healthier eating — did not significantly reduce heart attacks or death unless blood sugar actually normalized. Simply delaying diabetes was not enough. Heart protection appeared only when glucose levels fully returned to a healthy range.
Researchers also found that people who reversed prediabetes had fewer heart attacks, strokes and other major cardiovascular events. The results suggest that restoring normal blood sugar may be just as important for heart health as controlling blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking risk.
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