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A CUP OF HEALTH WITH CDC
What You Should Know about Diabetes and Heart Disease
National Diabetes Awareness Month — November 2007
November 1, 2007

[Announcer] This podcast is presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC – safer,
healthier people.

[Matthew Reynolds] Welcome to A Cup of Health with CDC, a weekly broadcast of the
MMWR, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. I’m your host, Matthew Reynolds.
For people with diabetes, blood sugar is not the only thing to monitor. Adults with
diabetes have a higher risk of dying from heart disease than those without diabetes.
However, a recent CDC study found that the number of adults over 35 with diabetes
who report having heart disease has begun to drop. Among African Americans, this
decrease is even more encouraging.

Nilka Rios Burrows, a researcher with CDC’s Diabetes Translation program, is here to
discuss the relationship between diabetes and heart disease and offer some
suggestions to improve health. Welcome to the show, Ms. Burrows.

[Ms. Burrows] Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here.

[Matthew Reynolds] Ms. Burrows, why are people who have diabetes especially at
risk for heart disease?

[Ms. Burrows] There are certain conditions that happen in people with diabetes that put
you at for heart disease, such as high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high blood
cholesterol. And the problem is that these conditions happen before the onset and
diagnosis of diabetes.

[Matthew Reynolds] Before we talk about the results of your study, how would
someone would know if they might have heart disease?

[Ms. Burrows] One sign of heart disease is angina which is pain or discomfort in your
chest, shoulders, arms, or back, especially when you exercise. The pain may go away
when you rest or if you take angina medicine. Angina does not cause permanent
damage to the heart muscle but if you have angina you have a greater risk of having a
heart attack.

[Matthew Reynolds] So for our listeners who might be concerned that they might be
suffering from angina, you would suggest then that they see a health care provider to
check that out?

[Ms. Burrows] That’s absolutely right.

[Matthew Reynolds] If a person has diabetes, what do they need to know about
managing it and staying as healthy as possible?

[Ms. Burrows] People with diabetes need to be smart about their heart and control the
ABCs of diabetes. That is A1C for managing blood sugar, B for blood pressure, and C
for cholesterol.

[Matthew Reynolds] Are there other things that people can do to help prevent
diabetes or, if they already have diabetes, prevent further health complications?

[Ms. Burrows] The best news is that you really don’t have to knock yourself out to
prevent diabetes. Researchers have found that life style changes, such as modest
weight loss, regular exercise, eating right can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes,
especially among adults at higher risk of the disease. There are also more effective
ways of preventing or treating the complications of diabetes among those who have the
disease. If you or a family member has diabetes, talk to your doctor and get checked.

[Matthew Reynolds] Returning to your study, you found some encouraging news
about the rates of cardiovascular disease among people with diabetes. What did you
find?

[Ms. Burrows] The CDC report found that the proportion of adults with diabetes who
are age 35 years or older who reported having a cardiovascular disease condition
dropped by 11 percent between 1997 and 2005. In some population groups, the
decrease in prevalence was even greater than this overall decrease of 11 percent.
Particularly encouraging decreases were seen among blacks with a decline in
prevalence of 25 percent, and also among persons with diabetes age 35 to 64 years
with a decrease of 14 percent.

[Matthew Reynolds] Well that certainly is good news that those trends are moving in
favor for people who have diabetes and cardiovascular disease. What does that mean
for someone who does have diabetes and may be concerned about cardiovascular
disease or may have cardiovascular disease?

[Ms. Burrows] Well, the findings in this report are encouraging, but it does not mean
that we need to stop what we’re doing and say “job well done.” What it means is that we
need to continue our efforts to prevent heart disease with renewed energy and
commitment. Like I said before, people with diabetes need to be smart about their heart
and control the ABCs of diabetes. That is again A1C for managing blood sugar, B for
blood pressure, and C for cholesterol.

[Matthew Reynolds] Where would you recommend our listeners go for more
information about diabetes and cardiovascular disease?

[Ms. Burrows] They can find out more from our website at www.cdc.gov/diabetes.

[Matthew Reynolds] Ms. Burrows, thanks for taking the time to share this information
with our listeners today.

[Ms. Burrows] Thank you for the opportunity.

[Matthew Reynolds] Well, that’s it for this week’s show. Don’t forget to join us next
week. Until then, be well. This is Matthew Reynolds for A Cup of Health with CDC.

To access the most accurate and relevant health information that affects you, your family and your
community, please visit www.cdc.gov.