Why Is Heart Disease So Common in People With Diabetes?
Like this page to know more : https://www.facebook.com/Heart-Diabetes-Conference-103687900500902/
Diabetes by itself is now regarded as the strongest risk factor for heart disease; however, a variety of mechanisms—not solely blood glucose levels—most likely come into play. The blood vessels in patients with diabetes are more susceptible to other well-established risk factors, such as smoking, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and more than 90% of patients with diabetes have one or more of these additional risk factors.
Some of the increased susceptibility to blood vessel damage that people with diabetes have could be due to the long-term effects of inadequate control of blood glucose levels on the tissues or as a result of other cell damage related to diabetes. There is also evidence that being overweight, having a sedentary lifestyle and poor blood glucose control contribute to the increased chance of high blood pressure and abnormalities in blood lipids (i.e., high cholesterol, high triglycerides and a low level of HDL cholesterol—the “good” cholesterol.
Research on the role of additional risk factors is being conducted. Evidence shows that patients with diabetes have an increased level of low-grade inflammation of their arterial lining, a process that initiates the blood vessel changes leading to heart disease. Some of the new tests to assess this inflammation are being evaluated, including C-reactive protein and homocysteine.
Like this page to know more : https://www.facebook.com/Heart-Diabetes-Conference-103687900500902/
How to Prevent or Delay Heart Disease :
Like this page to know more : https://www.facebook.com/Heart-Diabetes-Conference-103687900500902/
The best way to prevent or delay the development of cardiovascular disease is to prevent diabetes itself. People with increased risk for diabetes can be identified. A large National Institutes of Health-sponsored study, the Diabetes Prevention Program, and other studies have proven that modest weight reduction and a 30-minute exercise routine five days a week can reduce the development of type 2 diabetes over three years by more than 50%. Moreover, even people at risk for diabetes or those with prediabetes, in addition to those with diabetes, frequently have abnormalities in blood pressure and lipid levels that can be detected and treated to prevent cardiovascular disease.
Weight control and smoking cessation are two important lifestyle measures that have an impact on preventing heart disease. Studies show that even in overweight people, regular physical activity has major cardiovascular benefits.
In the last 10 years, large-scale research studies around the world have shown that optimal control of LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) and blood pressure can prevent adverse cardiovascular outcomes by 30% to 50%. The American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association recommend an LDL cholesterol goal in all adults with diabetes at less than 100 mg/dl. In people who already have heart disease, a more desirable LDL cholesterol goal should be less than 70 mg/dl, based on evidence from more recent studies. The blood pressure goal in all patients with diabetes is less than 130/80. In most patients with diabetes, reaching these targets for blood pressure could require two or more medications. Fortunately, we have safe and effective medications available to help patients meet their lipid and blood pressure goals.
In addition, good control of blood glucose levels and low-dose aspirin can add to these benefits. For A1C tests—a measure of average blood glucose levels over the preceding two to three months—the goal is less than 7%..
Like this page to know more : https://www.facebook.com/Heart-Diabetes-Conference-103687900500902/
Like this page to know more : https://www.facebook.com/Heart-Diabetes-Conference-103687900500902/
Take Action
To sum up: there's no totally certain way to avoid heart disease and circulation problems. But there are lots of things to do to cut your risk.
- If you smoke, stop.
- Lose weight if you are overweight
- Keep your blood pressure in the proper range
- Get regular physical activity
- Keep your blood fats and cholesterol levels in a healthy range
- Keep your blood glucose under control
Like this page to know more : https://www.facebook.com/Heart-Diabetes-Conference-103687900500902/
