People with diabetes have almost 50 percent higher risk of a heart attack, says a new analysis from UK.

The National Diabetes Audit analyzed health records of almost two million people in England and Wales. The audit report also found that these people were at increased risk of other health complications and premature death.

About 22,000 people with diabetes in England and Wales died early in 2010/11, the report says. The risk of heart attack for people diagnosed with diabetes was 48 percent higher than the general population.

"The finding that people with diabetes are almost 50 per cent more likely to have a heart attack is shocking; this is one of the main reasons many thousands of people with the condition are dying before their time," said Barbara Young, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK.

People with type 1 diabetes had a 135 percent higher death rate than the national death rate. People with diabetes are 65 percent more likely to have a heart failure than the general population. These people are also 25 percent more likely to have a stroke.

In the U.S., the number of people being diagnosed with diabetes has tripled from 5.6 million in 1980 to 20.9 million in 2010. At present the U.S. economy pumps in $117 billion dollars in the treatment of diabetes each year. According to CDC by 2050, 1 in 3 US adults will have diabetes.

A recent study found that heart disease, stroke and death rates among people with diabetes had declined between 1997 and 2006, however these people are still twice more likely to suffer from health complications than the general population. According to the researchers the decline in death rates has largely been due to improvements in blood-sugar control, lifestyle changes, and early detection and intervention programs.

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