“Can diabetes increase my risk for a heart attack?”
I know type 2 diabetes has a lot of complications associated with it, but I didn't know heart diseases and other heart conditions were included in that. Can diabetes put me at a greater risk for a heart attack? And, how can I prevent it?
1 Answer
The answer to this is a big YES. People with diabetes are at greater risk of heart attack & stroke that those without diabetes. Whether we can prevent these complications by improved diabetes control is a strong debate in the diabetes world. Some studies say yes & some are equiv. I am a believer that "God or nature" set parameters for the blood glucose levels we should live at. If we are unlucky enough to have diabetes, we should still live within these parameters. A low blood sugar will affect our brains since it can function only on sugar. Too high a blood sugar causes damage to the blood vessels & nerves of the body and the long term complications-blindness, kidney failure, foot ulcer & amputations, heart damage & stroke, etc. SO keep your blood sugar levels in the proper range. Get a good diabetes education from a licensed diabetes educator, follow the guidelines given for life style, keep your A1c below 7% & preferably below 6.5% ( it can be done mine is 5.8% after 26 years of diabetes). It isn't easy & I despise this disease but I have to live with it as we all do who are unlucky enough to have it, so we must accept it and do the best we can to control it & not let it control us. GOOD LUCK!
