Diabetes & Heart Disease

Heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease (CAD) or cardiovascular disease (CVD), is common in people with type 2 diabetes. The risk of getting a heart disease or stroke is more than two times with people already diagnosed with diabetes. While most people with diabetes have an increased likelihood of developing heart disease, it becomes even higher with those having type 2 diabetes.

What Causes Heart Disease in People with Type 2 Diabetes?

Hardening of coronary arteries or atherosclerosis is one of the most common reasons for heart disease in people with diabetes. In this condition, cholesterol or fat builds up in the heart vessels that carry blood and oxygen to the heart. 

People with type 2 diabetes are not only at a higher risk for heart disease but also heart failure, a far more serious medical condition where the heart doesn’t function properly in pumping the blood. It can also cause a fluid build-up in the lungs, near the heart, that may cause breathing trouble and fluid retention in other parts of the body, especially the extremities.

Heart Attack Symptoms

Some clear and evident signs and symptoms of a heart attack include:

• Shortness of breath
• Feeling of fainting
• Dizziness
• Breaking into an excessive and unexplained cold sweat
• Chest pain, tightness or pressure that increases during activity
• Pain and tightness in shoulders, jaw, and left arm
• Nausea
• Lightheadedness

While the above symptoms are the common ones associated with heart disease, not everyone gets all or any of the above symptoms, specifically women. 

How to Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease or Heart Attack?

Amidst all the serious talks, there is a piece of good news that you can reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Here’s how to do it:

• Get an annual diabetes review while getting your HbA1c, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol levels checked thoroughly. If you find the values outside the normal limit, make sure you seek advice from a cardiologist about how to keep them under safe limits.
• If you smoke actively and frequently, make sure you stop it. Smoking makes it challenging for the blood to flow smoothly through your vessels to the heart and body. 
• Consume a healthy and balanced diet to keep your heart healthy. Speak to a nutritionist and get a healthy heart diet plan.
• Keep yourself physically active and make sure you do some regular exercise every day to keep yourself active and moving.
• If you’re overweight or obese and your BMI is more than 25, seek appropriate advice to lose some weight. Don’t keep a big, unattainable target which makes the goal unachievable. Do whatever you can in your capacity to lose weight as even a small amount of weight loss makes a big difference.
• If you’ve high blood pressure or high cholesterol, the two most critical risk factors for heart disease, make sure you seek medical advice from a healthcare practitioner. Keep taking those medicines regularly to reduce or prevent developing heart disease in the future.
• Keep your blood sugar levels within target eange. Get tested frequently for random, fasting, and postprandial blood sugar levels to assess your blood sugar condition. If you feel the levels are higher despite taking medicine and diet control, speak to your endocrinologist immediately on taking the appropriate measure. Keeping blood sugar levels under check is half the battle won in preventing heart disease.
• The target blood pressure levels for people with diabetes are 130/80. Try to hit those levels at all times, with or without medication. Keep checking your blood pressure regularly to avoid a sudden flare-up. Make sure you keep taking regular medicine for blood pressure if you’re already diagnosed with a high blood pressure condition.
• Cholesterol levels, when gets high in the body, end up with the deposit of fat and plaque over the arteries which makes it difficult for the blood and oxygen to flow smoothly to the heart. If you’ve high cholesterol levels, make sure you take appropriate medicine to keep those under control and get them checked regularly for monitoring. Apart from this, lead an active lifestyle with adequate movement and exercise throughout the day. Consuming a healthy, balanced, and nutritious diet that is high in fibre, protein, and minerals than unsaturated fats.
• Stress is one of the biggest reasons for diabetes, blood pressure, and heart disease. Needless to say, whether you’re already diagnosed with the above conditions or you want to keep yourself away from them, effective stress management is extremely important. Practice mindful stress reduction techniques like deep breathing, meditation, yoga, exercise, communication with friends and loved ones, and more. If these methods don’t work, don’t hesitate to seek help from a psychologist who will help you with the necessary medication and therapies to keep stress under control. Learn stress management and anger management behavioural techniques to keep yourself away from stress and negative thoughts.

 

Since people with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing heart disease, it is important to practise the above prevention techniques to avoid it from happening. Get evaluated annually or earlier by an endocrinologist and physician to seek expert advice.