“Can type 2 diabetes cause a heart attack?”
My 60-year-old mother has type 2 diabetes and I'm scared that it can cause complications. Can it cause a heart attack?
3 Answers
When uncontrolled for many years it can increase risk of coronary artery disease
Yes.
Yes it can. Listen to the commercials for some of the latest diabetes drugs. They stress this. High blood sugar causes damage to blood vessels that can cause eye damage with blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke & many other things. This blood vessel damage is caused by chronic poor diabetes control with high blood sugars. Your mother should be monitoring here blood sugar level regularly, getting a Hemoglobin A1c test every 3 0r 4 mo. & working to keep them in normal range. If they are not in range, she needs to insist to her Dr. that she needs a change in the medical regime until it is normal. It can be done. I have had diabetes for 26 years & my HbA1c is 6.0 (normal) & I have no complications. Complications such as heart attack are preventable with good control. Now be aware of the fact that there are other causes of heart disease other than diabetes-age, heredity, cholesterol, hypertension, etc. so try to get all of these tested & controlled.
