On 1 August 2026, I was honoured to be invited as a speaker at the Diabetes Care Workshop – Southern, held at St Giles Hotel, Johor Bahru. The workshop brought together healthcare professionals, including approximately 50 general practitioners, with the aim of enhancing practical and comprehensive diabetes management.
Organised with the support of the Abbott team and facilitated by the EPD CV Southern Team, the programme featured a multidisciplinary approach involving cardiology, ophthalmology, nephrology, nutrition and endocrinology.
Expanding the Lipid Playbook: From LDL Lowering to Residual Risk Control
I had the opportunity to deliver a session titled:
“Expanding the Lipid Playbook: From LDL Lowering to Residual Risk Control.”
Diabetes is not simply a disorder of blood glucose. Patients with diabetes frequently carry multiple cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidaemia, hypertension, obesity and chronic kidney disease. As a cardiologist, I emphasised the importance of looking beyond LDL cholesterol alone and taking a more comprehensive approach to cardiovascular risk reduction.
While achieving guideline-recommended LDL-C targets remains fundamental, residual cardiovascular risk can persist even after substantial LDL-C reduction. This highlights the importance of addressing the overall cardiometabolic profile of our patients through appropriate lipid management, blood pressure control, lifestyle modification and evidence-based pharmacotherapy.
A Truly Multidisciplinary Approach
One of the strengths of the workshop was its multidisciplinary format.
The programme covered several important aspects of diabetes care:
- Diabetic retinopathy – recognising the unmet needs and appropriate management pathways
- Hypertension – focusing on cardiovascular and renal protection
- Medical nutrition therapy – integrating nutritional strategies with advanced pharmacotherapy
- Continuous glucose monitoring – practical optimisation of diabetes management using iCGM and FreeStyle Libre
- Cardiovascular risk reduction – with an emphasis on prevention rather than simply treating established complications
This multidisciplinary approach reflects the reality of modern diabetes care: the best outcomes are achieved when cardiovascular, renal, metabolic, ophthalmic and nutritional risks are managed together.
Bridging Guidelines and Everyday Clinical Practice
For me, one of the most valuable aspects of the workshop was the opportunity to interact with GPs and discuss how evidence-based recommendations can be translated into everyday clinical practice.
Primary care physicians play a crucial role in identifying patients at high cardiovascular risk early, initiating appropriate preventive strategies and ensuring long-term follow-up.
The discussions and Q&A sessions also highlighted how important it is to individualise treatment according to each patient’s cardiovascular risk, comorbidities, treatment goals and preferences.
Moving Towards Comprehensive Cardiometabolic Care
Diabetes management has evolved significantly. We are no longer treating “blood sugar” in isolation.
The modern approach is increasingly focused on:
Glucose + Lipids + Blood Pressure + Kidney Protection + Cardiovascular Protection + Lifestyle
Ultimately, the goal is not simply to improve laboratory numbers, but to prevent myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease and other long-term complications of diabetes.
I would like to thank the organisers, the Abbott team, EPD CV Southern Team, fellow speakers and all the GPs who participated in this meaningful workshop.
It was a pleasure to contribute to a programme focused on improving diabetes care and, importantly, reducing the cardiovascular burden associated with diabetes in our community.