Diabetes and Your Heart

If you’re diagnosed with type 2, your heart health needs extra attention

Doing his heart a favor—After enrolling in the Latino Diabetes Education Program at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, Luis Figueroa started walking regularly. As a result, the Allentown man has reduced his blood sugar levels and improved his cardiovascular fitness—both powerful protectors against heart disease.

Want to successfully manage your diabetes? Then take charge of your heart health—because having type 2 diabetes means you already have the equivalent of heart disease.

“People with diabetes have as high a risk for a heart attack as someone who’s already had one,” says cardiologist Andrew Sumner, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “And diabetes makes other cardiac risk factors more lethal.”

It’s all about your blood vessels, says Sumner’s colleague, endocrinologist Larry Merkle, M.D. “High amounts of sugar in the bloodstream tend to accumulate in vessel linings, making it easier for cholesterol to build up,” he says.

Rising obesity levels have fueled a diabetes “epidemic” in our nation, but the prognosis for each individual is brighter thanks to improved treatment methods. To fend off a heart attack or stroke, here’s what you need to address besides blood sugar control:

Cholesterol—“Your LDL (bad cholesterol) target needs to be much lower than for a non-diabetic person,” says Yehia Mishriki, M.D., an internist at the hospital: “Aim for a level below 70, the same target we use for a person with established heart disease.” Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are the norm for most people with diabetes.

Blood pressure—“Your treatment goal is below 130/80, compared with 140/90 for the average person,” Sumner says. “To reach that, you may need three different classes of blood pressure medications.” It’s worth it: Every 10-point reduction in blood pressure reduces your risk for premature death by 11 percent.

Smoking—“A person with diabetes who smokes is throwing fuel on the fire,” Mishriki says. “The combination accelerates clogged arteries faster than anything. Quitting is hard, but there are excellent new approaches and medications today.”

Central obesity—Excess weight in the abdomen raises heart disease risk, and if you have type 2 diabetes, you have a genetic tendency to gain there. “In prehistoric times, it was a survival trait,” Merkle says. With today’s fatty diets and sedentary habits, it’s the opposite.

Diet and exercise—“Living a healthier lifestyle is by far the most important thing you can do if you have diabetes,” Mishriki says. That includes diet principles like controlling portions, limiting fats and increasing fiber with whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Daily exercise—it can be as simple as a brisk walk—is equally vital.

Take it a small step at a time, and learn all you can, Merkle says: “Diabetes is one disease where education can make all the difference in the world.”

Want to Know More about how the Helwig Health and Diabetes Center can help you? Call 610-402-CARE.

Published from Healthy You Magazine, May-June 2008

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