The percentage of diabetics with cardiovascular disease fell from 36.6 percent in 1997 to 32.5 percent in 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report.

The 11 percent drop was fueled by major strides by blacks.

The rate of black diabetics with cardiovascular disease fell by a quarter during this period, from 36.3 percent in 1997 to 27.1 percent in 2005. Whites saw a much smaller decline during the same period, the CDC said. Blacks still have higher diabetes rates than whites or Hispanics.

A second CDC report showed more diabetics are monitoring their blood sugar levels daily.

While the rates of cardiovascular disease among diabetics have declined, many more people overall were diagnosed with diabetes from 1997 to 2005 -- a 43 percent increase, the CDC noted. In 2005, about 5 percent of Americans had diabetes.

Cardiovascular disease is the top cause of death for Americans, particularly among diabetics. Nearly two thirds of deaths among U.S. diabetics are caused by heart disease and stroke, and diabetics have heart disease death rates about two to four times higher than other people, the CDC said.

The recent trend, the CDC said, might be due to progress against cardiovascular disease risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking, development of new drugs such as cholesterol-lowering statins, and use of heart disease preventive treatments like daily aspirin therapy.