This short 2017 review surveys evidence linking sugar intake to heart disease.
Half of heart attack patients are diabetic, and nearly three-quarters have impaired glucose tolerance. Elevated blood glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance independently increase risk for heart disease based on data in a variety of populations (1). Diabetics, specifically, have triple the heart disease risk of nondiabetics, have an increased risk even after adjusting for the higher-risk lipid profile often seen alongside diabetes (2), and those diabetics who do have a heart attack are less likely to survive (3).
Calorie for calorie, added sugars increase fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and insulin resistance more significantly than starches or other nutrients (4). Increased sugar intake also has been linked to impaired platelet function, increased triglycerides, increased uric acid, and reduced HDL cholesterol, all of which are independent cardiovascular disease risk factors (5).
Taken together, this body of evidence suggests increased consumption of added sugars increases heart disease risk, both indirectly by increasing the risk of diabetes and directly through other mechanisms.