Diabetes and Heart Disease

by Charlene J. Nuble

Diabetes has been shown to be one of the leading causes of cardiovascular problems. Diabetes, by itself, is a medical condition that to date has affected 194 million people worldwide, and the numbers are estimated to increase to 250 million by the next decade.

The most common type of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. This is a common form of diabetes because it is related closely to obesity, particularly intestinal obesity. The more or less sedentary lifestyles led by most people in the modern age is a major contributing factor to the spread of diabetes, particularly lack of exercise and high intake levels of sugar and junk food.

Type 2 Diabetes basically involves an increase in the bodys demands for insulin, and a failure of the pancreatic cells to meet these increased demands. On a metabolic level, the bodys blood cells generate a high rate of insulin resistance, increasing the need for insulin because the cells cant process them as efficiently. Diabetes, if left unchecked, ultimately leads to two major physical conditions, one being blindness, and the other death through cardiovascular problems.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death through heart failure due to cardiometabolic instability. Research has shown that the other factors closely involved with type 2 diabetes, namely hypertension and obesity, also contribute to heart failure. Fully two thirds of the patients who were being treated for heart problems in various European hospitals were discovered to have diabetes as well, whether or not they were previously diagnosed for it.

The two seem to go hand in hand. Whereas before it was acknowledged that diabetics run the risk of suffering cardiovascular conditions, now the trend seems to be finding that a majority of those suffering heart conditions are also diabetic. Again, it boils down to the lifestyle that leads to diabetes in the first place.

First off, intestinal obesity seems to trigger both conditions together. Obesity leads to an increase in the bodys resistance to insulin, which leads to an increased demand for it that the bodys insulin generators cant keep up with. This, or course, leads to diabetes. On top of this, the same condition of obesity also involves having large amounts of unhealthy cholesterol in the blood stream. Cholesterol clogging in the ventricles naturally leads to cardiovascular failure.

The two effects actually stack one on top of the other. The blood cells insulin resistance also leads to a lower metabolic rate, which means that the speed and efficiency with which the cells process nutrients is lowered. This leads to even more buildup of cholesterol. The two processes taken together greatly contribute to heart problems.

Hypertension is also closely linked to obesity. The increasing strain on the bodys pancreatic cells to generate enough insulin to meet the diabetics increasing demands leads to hypertension. The resulting increase in blood pressure generates its own set of cardiovascular complications on top of those caused by intestinal obesity.

The best solution to avoiding diabetes and heart failure is preventive measures taken early on. Getting more exercise and keeping a balanced diet is the key. However, for those who are already diabetic, the only option that is available is preventive maintenance. Orally taken medications are available to take care of the effects of diabetes, and in those cases where the diabetic is unaffected by the medicines, insulin injections are used for treatment.

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Charlene J. Nuble

For All the things you need to know about diabetes, please go to: Type 2 Diabetes

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