Often, when you mention diabetes control people think about keeping glycemics levels close to normal, neglecting other variables of cardiovascular risks. Objectives: It was to assess glycemic control as measured by hemoglobin glycosylated A1c and to determinate the presence of hypertension, obesity and altered lipid profile, to learn how they interrelate, and observed its evaluative limitations when taken apart in defining the extent of integral metabolic control achieved. Materials and methods: There were carried out a populational cross-sectional study in 131 diabetic patients older than 30 years, users of an Healthcare Program, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, during the year 2006, in which, previous informed assent, anthropometrics measurements were taken in body, arterial pressure and a sample of blood for biochemical analysis. Results: The 58% of the patients showed adequate glycemic control and 18% inappropriate. The average serum levels were: glucose, 150 mg/dL; LDL-cholesterol, 133 mg/dL and triglycerides, 151 mg/dL. The cardiovascular risk factors with greater presence were obesity, LDL-cholesterol and hypertension (78%, 73% and 47%) and they are also present in patients with normal glycated hemoglobin levels. Conclusions: The study concludes that the measure of HbA1c alone is inadequate as an evaluator of the comprehensive metabolic state of a patient who is diabetic, and that there is a necessity to strengthen strategies to reduce cardiovascular risks in this population.