Why Heart Disease Is One Of The Leading Causes Of Death In Diabetes Patients
December 8, 2021
How Weight Reduction Protects Against Both Diabetes And Heart Disease
December 8, 2021
Living with diabetes is incredibly challenging, but it’s the risk of complications associated with diabetes that makes life even tougher. Unfortunately, diabetes and heart disease are closely linked – heart disease or cardiovascular disease is reported in roughly 32.2% of all patients with type-2 diabetes. This means that more than 1 in 4 diabetes patients also suffers from heart disease. Heart disease is also regarded as one of the main causes of mortality in diabetes patients across the world. This makes it important for every diabetes patient to be aware of the risk of heart disease, as well as heart disease early signs.
Heart Disease Early Signs & Symptoms
Often described as a silent killer, heart disease does not always present with visible symptoms until the occurrence of a major cardiac event, such as a heart attack or heart failure. This is why it is so important for individuals at risk of heart disease, such as diabetes patients to undergo regular health checks. Early detection can significantly improve treatment outcomes, improving the scope for reversing and preventing heart disease. In addition to getting screened for heart disease regularly, you should lookout for heart disease early warning signs. These can include:
- Irregular heartbeat or palpitations
- Breathlessness after even moderate physical activity
- Tightness or pain in the chest
- Extreme weakness, dizziness, or fainting
- Sudden pain or numbness in the extremities
As noted earlier, a number of these symptoms may only surface shortly before the onset of a serious cardiac event, making prevention and regular screening most important.
Heart Disease Management When You Have Diabetes
Fortunately, when it comes to fighting heart disease, many of the same lifestyle measures that help manage diabetes will also help to lower the risk of heart disease. This is because both diabetes and heart disease have similar risk factors and are lifestyle diseases. Making changes to your lifestyle and diet are therefore critical for fighting heart disease, especially as a diabetes patient. Some of the steps that you can take include the following.
Get Active
You probably know that the risk of diabetes and poor diabetes management is higher with sedentary behaviour. This is also the case for heart disease, with research showing a 37 percent higher risk of heart disease mortality among people who get little physical activity. Even low to moderate intensity activities like walking and swimming can help fight both heart disease and diabetes.
Eat Smart
A heart healthy diet is also invariably helpful with diabetes management. The DASH diet is specifically aimed at combating hypertension and heart disease and is widely regarded as the best diet for heart disease and diabetes prevention or management. The diet has been shown to be beneficial for diabetes patients, with its focus on whole foods, while limiting intake of sodium, added sugar, and saturated fats.
Weight Management
Obesity or being overweight is known to adversely affect diabetes management and it also affects heart disease risk. Losing just 10 to 15 percent of body weight through healthy eating and exercise is known to aid blood sugar management and protect heart health, however, larger weight loss can be even more beneficial when fighting heart disease as a diabetes patient.
Routine Health Checks
As a diabetes patient at risk of heart disease or suffering from heart disease, regular monitoring of blood pressure and cholesterol levels is absolutely vital to fight heart disease. If lifestyle measures are not adequate, your doctor may also prescribe medications to keep these levels in check.
Managing Mental Health
Managing your mental health is critical as a diabetes patient because high stress levels and depression can make it harder to manage blood sugar levels. These conditions are also linked to a higher risk of heart disease and simple stress reduction techniques like yoga, meditation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation can help to fight heart disease.
Quit Smoking
Smoking is one of the biggest risk factors for heart disease and is also known to adversely affect diabetes management. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do to better protect your heart.
Despite your best efforts, sometimes heart disease is unavoidable and, in such cases, treatment will also require the use of medications and other procedures including surgery.
