From the Winter 2012 StayHealthy publication
So you've been diagnosed with diabetes and need to manage your blood sugar. But that's not all, according to Candice Yu-Fleming, MD, Family Medicine physician with Portage Medical Group. "Diabetes is a red flag that also greatly increases your risk for heart disease or stroke. The scary fact is that two out of three people with diabetes die from stroke or heart disease," she said.
But there is good news: "Discovering you're diabetic or pre-diabetic means you can begin to act, reducing your risk for all three conditions - diabetes, heart disease and stroke," said Yu-Fleming. There is a critical connection between the three conditions and Yu-Fleming offers some enlightening answers about the risks:
Q: I've been hearing about metabolic syndrome. What is it and how does it affect me?
Dr. Yu-Fleming: Metabolic syndrome is a group of traits and conditions that put people at risk for diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Signs include abdominal obesity - a waist measurement of 40 inches or more in men or 35 inches or more in women, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low HDL, and elevated blood glucose. The syndrome appears to be increasing in prevalence. Reduce these signs and reduce your risk.
Q: How are diabetes, heart disease, and stroke related?
Dr. Yu-Fleming: All three conditions are very much related to a high level of blood glucose, as this leads to changes in the walls of the blood vessels. When the blood vessels are affected, the proper circulation of blood gets prohibited and as a result the heart or brain can be damaged.
Q: I'm a woman and haven't experienced menopause. Don't I have a lower risk for heart disease and stroke?
Dr. Yu-Fleming: Diabetes actually cancels out the protective effects of being a young woman in her childbearing years. So diabetic women of all ages are at increased risk.
Q: How does having diabetes affect my risk factors for heart disease or stroke?
Dr. Yu-Fleming: In a word, dramatically. If you have diabetes, you are twice as likely to have heart disease or stroke. People with diabetes also tend to develop heart disease or have strokes at an earlier age than other people. If you are middle aged and have type 2 diabetes, some studies show that your chance of having a heart attack is as high as someone without diabetes who has already had one heart attack. If you're diabetic and have already had a heart attack, you run an even greater risk of having a second one and heart attacks in diabetics are more serious and deadly.
Dr. Yu-Fleming is a member of the medical staff at Porter. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Yu-Fleming at Portage Medical Group, call 219.364.3700.
Visit the Porter Health System website
Valparaiso Campus
814 LaPorte Avenue
Valparaiso, IN 46383
Phone: 219-263-4600
Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Stroke
"The good news about these connected conditions is that you have the power to control many of your risk factors," said Sangeeta Sehgal, MD, Internal Medicine physician with Cumberland Physician Group in Valparaiso. "Family history may be out of our control, but we can make a big difference in our risk by watching other factors." Sehgal recommends the following:
1. Watch your waistline
Carrying extra weight around the middle, particularly central obesity (a waist of 35+ for women; 40+ for men) increases your risk because abdominal fat can increase the production of LDL (bad) cholesterol, the type that can deposit on the inside of blood vessels.
2. Control your blood pressure
Having high blood pressure makes your heart work harder, straining the heart, damaging blood vessels and increasing your risk for heart attack, stroke and problems with vision and kidneys.
3. Watch your cholesterol (blood fat) levels
LDL (bad) cholesterol can build up inside blood vessels, narrowing and hardening the arteries that carry blood from your heart to the rest of your body. Have your blood tested for levels of LDL, triglycerides and HDL (good) cholesterol.
4. Don't smoke
Smoking doubles your risk for heart disease, particularly important for diabetics as both smoking and diabetes narrow blood vessels.
Porter offers a variety of wellness assessments, including blood pressure, blood sugar, body mass index and total cholesterol. Many are free and don't require an appointment. For upcoming screenings, see the education section of this issue or visit porterhealth.com
Dr. Sehgal is a member of the medical staff at Porter. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Sehgal at Cumberland Physician Group, call 219.548.3843.