If you have diabetes, there is need to take care of your heart health along with your diabetes. This is because uncontrolled diabetes is a gateway to a host of cardiovascular diseases. While some of these develop slowly, other emergencies like heart attack do not wait.
Heart disease – Risk factors for people with diabetes
- Obesity (especially excess fat around the waist), and sedentary lifestyle are as such common risk factors for both diabetes and heart disease
- High blood pressure adds to cardiovascular risks in diabetes
- Diabetes leads to blood vessel damage including coronary arteries and peripheral arteries
- Since diabetes is a metabolic disorder, it also causes high cholesterol levels along with triglyceride levels. This condition is called diabetic dyslipidemia and it increases the risk of atherosclerosis
- Diabetes causes cell level damage in the organs and blood vessels. This leads to diabetic cardiomyopathy
- Autonomic neuropathy in diabetes leads to a condition called cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack) risk increases multifold in diabetes. This is because blood clotting increases in diabetes. Along with diabetic dyslipidemia and high blood sugar levels, high blood clotting increases the risk of heart attack.
- People with diabetes are also more prone to a silent heart attack. This is because of a condition called silent ischemia in which blood supply to the heart is reduced; however, due to poor nerve function pain sensation is reduced. Unnoticed, this condition can lead to sudden cardiac death.
Diabetes is generally associated with a cluster of conditions, which can cause numerous health complications. Cardiovascular diseases are among the major diabetes complications that can seriously affect the life of a person.
For that matter, if a person has minor but multiple abnormalities (hypertension, obesity, poor diabetes control, and smoking), the risk of cardiovascular diseases increases considerably. For those who already have cardiovascular diseases, the chances of having a fatal episode is also high.
Diabetes and Heart complications – Risk Management
That is why one needs to address these cluster issues holistically in order to stay disease. Among these measures, regulating blood pressure, high cholesterol, and blood sugar levels are key.
Measures to manage cardiovascular risks in diabetes
- Lifestyle modification with weight loss measures
- Customized diabetes diet plan in order to achieve blood sugar control
- Physical activity in order reduce weight. Reduction of body weight by just 7% leads to significantly reduced cardiovascular risk factors
- Adherence to medication therapy
- Periodical screening for risk assessment and reorienting treatment plan
- Reaching the target HbA1c levels