Take Diabetes to Heart: Linking Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

Having diabetes means you are more likely to develop heart disease and have a greater chance of a heart attack or a stroke. Adults with diabetes are nearly twice as likely to die from heart disease or stroke as people without diabetes. The good news is that the steps you take to manage your diabetes can also help lower your chances of having heart disease or a stroke.

Learn more about diabetes and cardiovascular disease: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-info...

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Transcript:

Take diabetes to heart - linking diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Meet Michelle. Michelle enjoys spending time with her family, and in her spare time she loves to cook and catch up on her favorite shows.

She also has diabetes. And like many people with diabetes, she doesn’t know there’s a link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease includes conditions such as heart disease and stroke. If you have diabetes, you are more likely to have risk factors associated with heart disease, including obesity, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. These put you at risk for heart disease and stroke.

Over time, high blood glucose from diabetes can damage your blood vessels and the nerves that control your heart. And adults with diabetes are nearly twice as likely to die from heart disease or stroke as people without diabetes.

But there’s good news for Michelle. She can take steps today to reduce her risk. And so can you. Here’s what you can do to protect your heart.

Manage your diabetes ABCs: A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. Ask your health care team what your goals should be.

Develop or maintain healthy lifestyle habits and learn ways to manage stress.

Take medicines as prescribed by your doctor. Stop smoking or using other tobacco products.

With lifestyle changes and a treatment plan from her health care team, Michelle can look forward to living a healthy life. And someone’s very happy about that.

So, take diabetes to heart. Visit niddk.nih.gov for more information on the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease.