What is the link between diabetes and heart disease?
Diabetes is a disorder in which your body does not make enough insulin or is unable to use insulin properly. This causes the level of sugar in your blood to become very high. If blood-sugar remains high for a long time, the inner lining of blood vessels may be damaged. This allows cholesterol to build up (plaques) in the walls of the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrition to the heart.
These cholesterol plaques can break apart or rupture, causing blood clots and blocking the blood vessel. This can lead to chest pains (called angina) or a heart attack. Diabetes can also slightly weaken the heart muscle itself. This can cause heart failure, a condition in which the heart is not able to pump enough blood.
If you have diabetes:
- You are 2 to 4 times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than someone without diabetes.
- If you have a heart attack, you are more likely to die of that heart attack than are such people without diabetes.
- You are more likely to have a heart attack at an earlier age than someone without diabetes.
What can I do to lower my risk?
Talk with your provider about any questions or fears you may have. Follow the treatment plan your health care provider prescribes. There are several other steps to take to lower your risk of heart disease:
- Control your blood sugar. Keeping your blood sugar levels within the proper ranges can prevent or delay blood vessel damage.
- Control your blood fats (cholesterol and triglycerides). Unhealthy levels of blood fats also cause heart disease. This effect happens faster and is usually worse when you have diabetes. People with diabetes often have high levels of triglycerides and low levels of HDL (good cholesterol). In people with diabetes, LDL (bad cholesterol) should be kept below 100 and triglycerides below 150. HDL should be above 55 for men with diabetes and above 45 for women with diabetes.
- Control your blood pressure. Nearly two-thirds of adults with diabetes have high blood pressure. In people with diabetes, blood pressure should be less than 130/80. Most people with diabetes often have to use 2 or more medicines to keep their blood pressure at that level.
- Lose weight if you are overweight, and maintain the lower weight. Weight loss can make it easier to control your blood sugar and blood pressure, and decrease your risk of heart disease.
- Exercise regularly according to your provider's instructions. Regular exercise can help you lose weight. It also helps reduce your risk of heart disease.
- If you smoke, quit. In people with diabetes, smoking triples the risk of dying from heart problems.
- Carry your medicine with you and know how to take it properly. It also helps to have a list of the names and doses and instructions for taking each medicine.
Developed by McKesson Provider Technologies.
Published by McKesson Provider Technologies.
Last modified: 2005-09-01
Last reviewed: 2005-06-20
This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information is intended to inform and educate and is not a replacement for medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.
Copyright © 2005 McKesson Corporation and/or one of its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved.
