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Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) aren't just for people with diabetes — they may also flag future heart disease risk in healthy adults. A study of 1,356 non-diabetic participants in the Framingham Heart Study found that higher CGM-measured glucose levels and time spent above 140 mg/dL were linked to elevated 10-year cardiovascular disease risk. Those with the worst glycemic profiles faced 6–7% higher predicted CVD risk than those with the best.
Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are best known as tools for managing diabetes — but a new study suggests they could play a much broader role in predicting heart disease risk, even in people who've never been diagnosed with diabetes.
Researchers analyzed CGM data from 1,356 non-diabetic adults in the Framingham Heart Study, who wore a Dexcom G6 monitor for up to 10 days. They found that higher mean glucose levels and more time spent above 140 mg/dL were consistently linked to higher 10-year predicted cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, calculated using the American Heart Association's PREVENT equations. Notably, some individuals classified as "normal" by traditional measures like fasting glucose and HbA1c still showed concerning glycemic patterns on CGM — suggesting those standard tests may miss early cardiometabolic risk.
Participants were grouped into four glycemic phenotypes, and those with high glycemic burden and high variability fared the worst across all cardiometabolic markers.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: CGM-based phenotyping could become a powerful new tool for identifying at-risk individuals before traditional markers catch up — potentially reshaping how clinicians approach cardiovascular prevention in the general population.
