Diabetes Is Warning Sign of Heart Disease
February 14, 2000
Most people don't think of diabetes as a warning sign of heart disease. But it is. At least two out of every three people with diabetes die of some form of cardiovascular disease.
The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), an initiative of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urges people with type 2 diabetes to control their blood sugar levels to avoid or delay heart disease.
Type 2 diabetes, previously called adult-onset diabetes, accounts for 90 to 95 percent of the 16 million Americans with diabetes. This number has increased six-fold in the last 40 years, partly the result of increasing age, obesity, physical inactivity, and hereditary factors.
"Diabetes is a major, but modifiable, risk factor for heart disease," said Dr. Rodney Lorenz, co-chair of the NDEP. "It is essential that people with diabetes work closely with their health care providers and follow these four steps: get regular physical activity, control weight, eat to control blood sugar and lipid levels, and take medications as prescribed," said Lorenz. Lowering high blood pressure levels and not smoking also decreases risks for cardiovascular disease.
"Women with diabetes have particularly high rates of cardiovascular disease," said Lorenz. According to a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, heart disease deaths have risen 23 percent in women with diabetes, compared to a decline of 27 percent among nondiabetic women. The outlook for men is somewhat better, with deaths due to heart disease declining 13 percent in men with diabetes, as compared to 36 percent in nondiabetic men.
For the general population, deaths from heart disease, stroke, and cancer have all declined, but deaths from diabetes have increased. "Diabetes is the epidemic of our times and continues to increase in prevalence, incidence, and deaths," said Lorenz.
Scientific evidence shows that aggressive management of diabetes can significantly delay or prevent the serious complications of the disease--kidney failure, blindness, and toe, foot or leg amputations.
For more information and free materials to help people with diabetes control their disease, call the National Diabetes Education Program at 1-800-438-5383 or visit the program's web site at http://ndep.nih.gov. ###
CONTACT:
Mimi Lising
(301) 496-3583
Page last updated: April 17, 2008
