If you are suffering from Diabetes, you run twice the risk of having a heart attack as opposed to a non-diabetic person.
If you are diabetic, you are under risk of acquiring heart disease or stroke at an younger age than a non-diabetic person
If you are diabetic and have had a heart attack, you are more likely to get a second attack
Diabetes leads to atherosclerosis (in diabetic patients, this occurs at a faster rate)
High blood glucose level -> Increased risk of accumulation of fats/cholesterol in blood vessels -> Affects the flow of blood through the vessels -> Atherosclerosis
How to prevent or delay?
1. First and most important factor to be considered is maintaining a Healthy- heart diet
- Fiber rich food
- Cut down on cholesterol
- Cut down on Saturated fat
- Cut down on Trans fat
- Consume foods rich in protein
Read the below posts on Cholesterol and trans fats for more details
Demystifying Cholesterol and Lipo-proteins
2. Physical activity and exercise: Remain fit.
3. De-stress
4. Quit smoking
5. Conuslt a cardiologist for proper medications
6. The A1C test
Frequent tests to see if your cholesterol and blood glucose levels are in control
To regularly check if your treatment is working, you will need to undergo an A1C test. Read this post for more details
http://frontierlifeline.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/diabetic-know-your-numbers-right/
Tags: a1c test, Adult, Cardiac Care, cardiology, chennai, Diabetes, Frontier Lifeline, pediatric
Thanks for writing about this!!