Somewhere in a hospital, on the streets, or even at home, a heart stops beating! The wailing sounds of an ambulance, and the scramble to the ER – Most of you are aware of the classic symptoms of heart attack. A crushing chest pain, sweating, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, and arm pain. However, do you know that you can prevent heart diseases in diabetes to a great extent?
The chances of heart disease are three times more in people with diabetes than in non-diabetic people. This means if you have diabetes, you have to take good care of your heart health in order to stay healthy and disease-free.
Tips to prevent heart diseases in diabetes
Restrict salt intake to 1500 mg per day
It is very important to choose foods with less sodium in them. This will not only reduce blood pressure, it might also help you stop gaining weight. Sodium in salt leads to an increase in blood pressure, and can lead to stroke, cardiovascular diseases, thickening of the left ventricle, and heart failure.
How to reduce salt intake?
Though sodium is present in almost all foods like seafood, meat, poultry, cereals, and processed foods, reducing the usage of table salt is very important.
Tips to reduce salt intake
- Stop consuming processed foods
- Fresh fruit and vegetables are better since they have less sodium
- If you are buying food from the supermarket, start reading food labels and look for the amount of sodium in it
- Do not purchase ginger-garlic paste. This contains more sodium.
- Manufactured sauces like pickled olives, ketchups, mustard, and soy sauce contain more sodium. Avoid these.
- Go for fresh garlic, vinegar, and homemade sauces
- Use more spices and herbs instead of salt
Healthy Eating
Choose a diabetic diet that is heart-healthy too. With a customized diabetes diet plan, you can get your daily dose of nutrients and stay disease-free.
Heart-healthy diet tips
- To begin with, know how many calories and how much of nutrients you need
- For an ideal heart-healthy and diabetic diet, it is important to maintain variety in your food.
- Consume more vegetables and fruits
- It’s preferable to opt for whole grains and legumes
- Choose low-fat dairy products
- Choose a cooking oil that’s low in saturated fats. Do not use partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Use cold-pressed cooking oils
- Get your omega-3 fatty acids from nuts
- Restrict intake of omega-6 fatty acids as these can lead to inflammation. Chronic inflammation leads to heart diseases
- Consume optimal amounts of dietary fiber.
Physical Activity
Staying physically active reduces the risk associated with diabetes and heart diseases. By getting regular physical activity, one can control high blood sugar levels. It strengthens your heart, improves lung function, and helps you reduce weight.
Physical activity and exercise recommendations for diabetes and heart health
- Do only age-appropriate physical activity that suits your medical condition
- Do not exercise if your blood sugar levels are higher than 250 mg/dL or lower than 100 mg/dL
- Never exercise if your sugar levels are 70 mg/dL or lower
- Generally, a moderate intensity exercise for about 30 minutes a day (5 days a week) is recommended
- In order to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, it is advised that you do moderate to vigorous physical activity for 40 minutes thrice a week. Consult a diabetes doctor before you begin this.
- Measure your sugar levels before you start exercising. If sugar levels are lower than 100 mg/dL, eat a snack and then start
- Check for low blood sugar level symptoms. If you experience any symptoms of hypoglycemia, consume a glucose tablet or 15 grams of glucose
Periodical Screening
It is important that you monitor your blood sugar levels at home with a glucometer. Along with this, you also need to get yourself screened to assess your diabetes control and heart health.
Screening tests for diabetes and heart health
- Regular blood pressure monitoring
- HbA1c test
- Lipid profile test
- Carotid ultrasound
- Chest X-ray
- ECG
- 2D-Echo
- Treadmill test
Diabetes and Heart Disease – Complete Risk Management
In order to avoid heart diseases in diabetes, one has to take care of a numerous factors. Controlling your blood pressure, total cholesterol levels, fasting and postprandial blood sugar levels, weight, taking care of diet, and getting physical activity can get unmanageable at times. This is when you need help.
In order to stay healthy, you need someone who can help you manage your diabetes and prevent/reduce the risk of heart diseases. Apollo Sugar Clinics helps with a range of services that are accessible at your home, in our clinics, and anywhere.
How Apollo Sugar helps you manage diabetes and heart health
Apollo Sugar helps you prevent/manage heart diseases in diabetes at home with:
- Continuous support
- Timely advice
- Reminders and alerts.
- Video doctor/care team consultations
- Connected devices
Our circle of care goes beyond the clinic and extends its services right at your home
- With Apollo Sugar app, you can consult diabetes doctors, endocrinologists, and general practitioners online
- With connected glucometers, your sugar levels are monitored real time by expert care team. They provide timely advice in order to reach normal levels
- By storing your prescription, you get reminders to medications and diagnostic tests
- Customized diabetes diet plan for you to manage diabetes and heart health
At our Clinics
- Consult a diabetes doctor, endocrinologists, and general practitioners.
- Get complete diagnostic tests
- Get total diabetes and heart risk assessment along with solutions
- Customized diabetes diet plan with guidance
- Diabetes educator consultation in order to manage diabetes and heart health
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