Why Are Diabetics at Higher Risk of Heart Disease?

Years of high blood sugar slowly damage the lining of your blood vessels and the nerves that supply the heart. That’s the core of the link between diabetes and heart disease. Diabetes also rarely comes alone: high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, extra weight and kidney trouble often travel with it. Each one adds strain, and together they push the heart risk well above average.

According to Dr. S. A. Merchant, an Interventional Cardiologist and Advanced Heart Failure Specialist in Mumbai, “Diabetes doesn’t only change your sugar reading. It changes the way your arteries behave. I often meet patients who have managed their sugar for years and never had their heart looked at. The earlier we check, the more options we have to protect the heart, so a regular heart review should be part of every diabetes plan.”

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• Blood vessel lining takes the hit. Sugar that stays high for long stretches irritates the inner wall of arteries, making it easier for fatty deposits to stick.
• Plaque builds up faster. Ongoing inflammation and oxidative stress speed up the narrowing of arteries, sometimes at a younger age than in people without diabetes.
• Nerve damage hides the warning signs. Diabetic neuropathy can dull chest pain, so a heart problem may show up only as breathlessness, sweating or unusual tiredness.
• The heart muscle itself can stiffen. Over time, diabetes can weaken or thicken the heart muscle even without a major blockage, which makes pumping less efficient.

If you already live with diabetes, you can get your sugar and heart care looked at together at our Heart & Diabetes Clinic in Mumbai.

• High blood pressure. BP and diabetes are a common pair, and together they put extra load on both the arteries and the heart.
• Unhealthy cholesterol. Many people with diabetes have high LDL and triglycerides with low HDL, which encourages plaque.
• Extra weight and low activity. Both worsen insulin resistance and make sugar, BP and cholesterol harder to control.
• Kidney disease and smoking. Weak kidneys and tobacco each raise heart risk on their own, and with diabetes the effect multiplies.

An ECG, echo and stress test can show how these risk factors are already affecting your heart, and you can read more about them under advanced heart failure diagnosis and testing.

• How long you’ve had diabetes and how well it’s controlled. Long-standing or fluctuating sugar usually calls for a closer heart review.
• Your symptoms and test findings. Breathlessness, swelling, palpitations or changes on ECG and echo guide how deep the evaluation needs to go.
• Other conditions you’re managing. BP, cholesterol and kidney function all shape which medicines are safe and useful.
• Age, family history and lifestyle. These decide how often you should be reviewed and what changes will help most.
  

Key Takeaways

• Diabetes raises heart disease risk even when sugar is reasonably controlled.
• High sugar, BP, cholesterol, weight and kidney problems work together, not alone.
• Diabetic nerve damage can make a heart attack feel mild or silent.
• Managing sugar, BP and cholesterol together lowers the risk.
• A heart check at diagnosis, and regular reviews after that, is better than waiting for symptoms.

REFERENCE:

1. Diabetes, Heart Disease, & Stroke – NIDDK, National Institutes of Health
2. Addressing Cardiovascular Risk Factors in People with Diabetes – NIDDK, National Institutes of Health

Disclaimer

This blog is for general information and education only. It isn’t a substitute for personal medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have chest pain, severe breathlessness or fainting, seek emergency care immediately.