Diabetes And The Menopause
GET YOUR KIDS INTO THE KITCHEN!
Submitted By: Carol Ann Bentley
You might be thinking “What’s the connection between diabetes and the menopause?”
Well, for ladies reaching that certain age, it can be very traumatic – especially when some of the effects experienced can easily be mistaken for those we have to be aware of when managing our diabetes…
For a diabetic taking medication, keeping blood sugars at the right level is a balancing act. If sugar levels drop too low, because of not eating enough or at the right times, you suffer a hypoglycemia episode (sometimes called ‘hypo’ for short). For me, this usually manifests itself as shaking; irritability; sweating and a faint-headed feeling. If you are diabetic and have ever had low-blood sugar you may recognize some of these symptoms, amongst others. A quick ‘glucose fix’ usually settles it within 5-10 minutes.
Now, compare that to some of the symptoms of starting the menopause; hot flushes [I call them 'power-surges' 
] – similar to the sweats of a hypo; mood swings – akin to the irritability you might experience during a hypo. It’s very easy to confuse the symptoms you are feeling.
When I first started the menopause, I frequently confused waking at 2 a.m. in the morning in a cold sweat as a hypo and took a quick sugar boost to settle myself. That pushed my blood sugar levels up when I didn’t need it. Not a good idea!
It was only after visiting my Doctor to talk about these frequent, unexpected hypos I discovered I was starting the menopause (I was in my late 40s, so it was rather unexpected, normally it doesn’t occur until early-to-mid 50s).
If you are a lady, with diabetes controlled by medication, and you are in your early 50s and you start having frequent, unexplained hypos – check your sugar levels before ‘treating the condition’. And get your Doctor to check your symptoms. You may be confusing symptoms of diabetes and the menopause.
And guys; if your lady normally has great control of her diabetes and suddenly seems to be showing the same symptoms when she was getting her diabetes into balance (if you knew her then) please be supportive and understanding, she’s going through one hell of an experience, but I promise, she will come through and be her normal, loving and charming self once again.
Source:Published At: Isnare.com Free Articles Directory – http://www.isnare.com/
[© 2006 Carol Ann Bentley] Carol Ann created http://www.your-diabetes.com to present information on diabetes from a diabetic’s viewpoint. Find out more about diabetes; how to recognize it; live with it; important linked health issues. Plus, read inspiring stories from other diabetics and share your experience.
TCOYD: Sex Intimacy and Diabetes
Source: Uploaded by UCtelevision on Apr 10, 2008 to YouTube
Dr. Edelman and Janis Roszler, RN, CDE, renowned expert on diabetes and sexual health, discuss the potential impact of diabetes on sexual health, and ways to maintain a healthy, enjoyable sex life.
World Diabetes Day–14th November 2011
GET YOUR KIDS INTO THE KITCHEN!
Source: Uploaded by drsnatarajan on Nov 9, 2011 to YouTube
WHO estimates that nearly 200 million people all over the world suffer from Diabetes and this number is likely to be doubled by 2030. Another shocking fact is that, about 80% of the diabetes deaths occur in middle-income countries.
On the occasion of World Diabetes Day we can organize various programs to create awareness among people about the disease and how it can be controlled, delayed and avoided.
This year the theme is ‘Diabetes education and prevention’.
Isorhamnetin – A Natural Way To Prevent Cancer and Diabetes
By: Tom Parker
Isorhamnetin is a flavonol and phytonutrient (a group of chemical compounds that are found in plant based foods but not considered essential to human health) that has been linked with cancer and diabetes prevention. In this article I will be discussing isorhamnetin in greater detail and providing you with a summary of its main functions, the best food sources, the recommended daily allowances (RDAs) and the potentially adverse effects of consuming too much or too little.
1) DISCOVERY:
Isorhamnetin was discovered by the Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi in 1938 as part of the flavonoid family. Gyorgyi initially believed that he had discovered a new vitamin and so named the flavonoids vitamin P. However, it was later discovered that unlike vitamins, the flavonoids are not essential to human health.
2) FUNCTION:
Like many of the flavonols, isorhamnetin is a powerful antioxidant which protects your body’s cells from damaging free radicals (harmful by-products of oxygen related reactions). It can also prevent multiple types of cancer (including esophageal cancer, liver cancer and lung cancer) and reduce the complications associated with diabetes (which include diabetic cataracts and high blood glucose levels). In addition to this, isorhamnetin can help keep your heart healthy by preventing arteriosclerosis (hardening and loss of elasticity within the arteries), preventing high blood pressure and protecting the heart’s cells against oxidative damage.
3) RDA:
Isorhamnetin is not believed to be essential in humans so no RDA has been established for this flavonol.
4) FOOD SOURCES:
Isorhamnetin can be found in numerous plant based foods. Some of the best sources include almonds (7.05 milligrams (mg) per 100 grams (g)), chives (6.75mg per 100g), dill weed (43.5g per 100g), fennel leaves (9.3mg per 100g), red onion (4.25mg per 100g) and turnip greens (between 5mg and 10mg per 100g).
5) OVERDOSE SYMPTOMS:
At the time of writing no overdose symptoms have been linked with isorhamnetin consumption.
6) DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS:
At the time of writing no deficiency symptoms have been linked with isorhamnetin consumption.
7) SUMMARY:
Whilst there is still a lot more research to be done on isorhamnetin, the early signs are very promising. Not only can it help you fight a number of nasty health conditions (including cancer and diabetes) but it also keeps your heart healthy. Furthermore, isorhamnetin rich foods contain high levels of other health boosting nutrients which means eating these foods allows you to unlock many more health benefits. So make sure you eat almonds, add chives to your dishes and cook with red onions to enjoy all the health benefits listed in this article and more.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Tom Parker owns Free Fitness Tips – a fantastic source of free, impartial fitness advice. You can learn more about isorhamnetin and the other flavonols by visiting his website.
Preventing Diabetic Foot Complications
By: Bruce Lashley
Foot amputation is one of the most serious complications that diabetics may encounter. Fortunately, diabetics do not have to bear the burden of keeping their feet healthy alone. Not all amputations associated with diabetes can be avoided, but with routine foot examinations by a podiatrist and daily self-examination of the feet by the patient, diabetic foot complications may be prevented. In order to thwart these complications, an understanding of how and why these problems occur must be recognized.
Understanding Diabetic Foot Complications: Diabetes causes an increase of sugar levels in the blood, which causes a process of “glycosylation” to be increased. Glycosylation is a normal process in the body that attaches chains of molecules to protein found in nerves, tendons, and cartilage. Increased glycosylation, over time, begins to damage the function of these structures.
A vital function of nerves is the ability to convey pain, which allows us to recognize problems with our body. Due to the importance of pain as our body’s fire alarm, damaged nerves become a major risk factor for formation of diabetic foot wounds. Increased glycosylation of nerves leads to decreased pain sensation and therefore results in the loss of protective sensation. This situation becomes detrimental to diabetics, who are now unaware of small lacerations, wounds or callus on their feet that might lead to more serious complications such as ulcers and bone infections. If wounds are left untreated, they may result in amputation.
In addition to increased sugar levels, diabetics also tend to have high lipid concentrations in the blood. This produces the build up of plaque in the arteries, which results in poor circulation to tissues. Tissues depend on blood circulation for nutrients and oxygen to stay healthy and fight infections. Consequently, circulatory problems may not directly lead to ulcers on the feet, but exacerbates diabetic foot complications by creating a poor environment for wounds to heal.
The Role of the Podiatrist in Diabetic Foot Care: Podiatric diabetic foot examinations are used to assess the risk of diabetic wounds and usually follow a methodical procedure that examines the entire foot from joint mobility and skin condition to nerve and vascular function.
Vascular Exam: In a routine diabetic foot exam, circulation is determined by feeling for pulses in the feet. If pulses are not felt or are weak, then an ultrasound Doppler test may be used to listen and record the status of the pulses. If the Doppler test indicates poor circulation, the podiatrist may refer the patient to a vascular physician in order to treat the patient to enhance the blood circulation to the feet. The podiatrist may also observe any swelling, skin color changes, and cold temperature in the feet, as this may indicate poor circulation as well.
Neurological Exam: In a neurological exam of the foot, the loss of protective sensation is assessed by using an instrument called a Semmes-Weinstein Monofilament, which is made out of a thin plastic wire. While the podiatrist touches the patient’s feet with the monofilament wire, the patient closes his or her eyes and tells the doctor whether or not they feel the instrument. An inability to feel the wire indicates that the patient cannot appropriately protect himself or herself from injury. These injuries can be cuts, callus or foreign body. It is important to note that neglecting the discovery of any of these injuries even for a single day can lead to an ulcer and later, an amputation.
Skin Exam: During the skin exam, calluses, cracking, and nail conditions are noted and evaluated. Thick nails may result in painful ingrown nails or pressure soars that can harbor bacteria and lead to infections in the foot. . The condition of the skin is examined as well to ensure that there is no fungal growth, foreign bodies, and excessive moisture or dryness that promotes bacteria growth and skin deterioration.
Muscular Exam: In order to prevent excessive pressure on the feet, bony prominences will be identified. The range of motion of joints is assessed by measuring joint motion with a tractograph. If there are painful bony prominences and decrease joint mobility, specialized diabetic shoes may be needed to provide extra depth for the feet and decrease friction against the skin. The combination of increased pressure and loss of protective sensation increases the risk of ulcers in diabetic patients. Additionally, muscle strength is evaluated in order to determine the stability of the foot. If muscle strength is found to be weak, bracing may be recommended to provide support.
The Role of the Diabetic Patient and Family Members in Diabetic Foot Care: The responsibility of the diabetic patient and family members in preventing diabetic foot complications is just as important as the roles of the podiatrist. Here are tips to take care of diabetic feet:
1. Since diabetics are at risk of losing sensation in their feet, it is imperative that self-inspection of the feet is performed every day. If it is difficult to bend the knees to see the bottom of the foot, a magnifying mirror can be used. The mirror can be placed on the ground, while the patient looks to find any sores or foreign objects in the feet. If there are family members to assist the patient, they can inspect the feet for any wounds as well. If lesions are noted, the patient should see a podiatrist promptly to ensure timely and proper treatment of the wound.
2. Routine podiatric visits are important in maintaining diabetic foot health, especially since during these visits, calluses and nails can be debrided to relieve any excessive pressure to the feet. Furthermore, routine visits can provide early warning signals of impending problems, as detailed in this article.
3. Diet and blood sugar level should be controlled to decrease the progression of loss of protective sensation in the feet.
4. Daily foot hygiene should be incorporated into diabetic foot care. This includes washing the feet and changing socks daily. Making sure that the foot has adequate moisture, which can be ensured by moisturizing lotion. Be careful with over-moisturized feet for this may lead to the breakdown of skin.
5. Ensure that shoes fit comfortably to avoid pressure to the feet. When buying shoes, a wide toe box is advised.
6. Avoid walking barefoot to prevent stepping on foreign objects.
8. Be cautious when taking baths or going to steam rooms because with decreased sensation, the chances of getting burns increases. When taking baths, test the water first with a thermometer or your hand.
Copyright (c) 2010 Bruce Lashley
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Bruce Lashley, DPM
Dr. Lashley is a podiatrist practicing in midtown Manhattan for the past 27 years. He specializes in the conservative and surgical management of the foot.
In October 2009, Dr Lashley moved his office to a new modern facility at 353 Lexington Avenue, in NYC.
For more information on Dr. Lashley visit his web site.
http://www.footdoctornyc.com/
American Diabetes Month – Time To Raise Awareness Of Diabetes Prevention And Control
By: Fabiola Delgado de la Flor
Diabetes is a severe illness that affects nearly 25.8 million or 8.3% of the American population. Its incidence has been increasing exponentially with every passing year. In the year 2007 alone, almost 250,000 deaths were attributed to Diabetes – directly or indirectly. Sadly, this figure has been rising every year. However, you can contribute to the cause and help to create awareness by wearing awareness ribbon pins during American Diabetes Month this November.
First of all, it should be realized that amongst the 25.8 million people who are affected by Diabetes, nearly one third of them are not aware of it. Either intentionally or unintentionally, they do not take the occurrence of Diabetes seriously, making the disease’s severity only worse. As such, it is our responsibility to make people conscious about it. You can increase awareness by wearing red ribbons and by educating people in your community about this condition. What you do can help to save lives from potential risk.
The American Diabetes Month is filled with events all around the country that not only call for people who are affected by the disease but also people who do not have it as well. You should realize that 79 million people have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes; a condition in which some of the symptoms of diabetes are observed. All they need to do is avoid factors that only speed up the progress of diabetes. During Diabetes Awareness Month, it’s important to educate these people about what they can do to prevent contracting the disease which in the medium and long term can save their lives.
Diabetes is not only a deadly disease, but it is also one which can cause the occurrence of other life-threatening conditions, such as blindness, heart diseases, foot ulcers, chronic pain, and even kidney failure. Moreover, the occurrence of heart strokes is often worsened when it occurs in conjunction with high blood sugar.
On the other hand, people suffering from diabetes often become quite depressed. Not being able to do what you want or physical limitations, sometimes make people victim of clinical and chronic depression. In November, you can show to these people that there’s hope and that you care by taking part of this national crusade.
Whether you have diabetes or not, it’s very important to support this cause and help to spread awareness. There are many ways you can team up for this campaign, from volunteering, donations, events or simply by wearing red ribbon pins during the month of November, it’s up to you how you want to take action!
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Sienna Pacific is a manufacturer of Awareness Pins and Cure Diabetes Stickers of the highest quality and offers free artwork with your Custom Lapel Pins order. Or if you wish, you can browse their awareness products in their online store.
The Diabetes Watch
By Martin Tobias
The world is currently in the grip of a diabetes epidemic. A recent major study by Majid Ezzati and colleagues from Imperial College London and Harvard University found that the number of adults with type 2 diabetes increased from an estimated 153 million in 1980 to 347 million in 2008. The number could be 370 million today.
Every region of the world is affected, although the epidemic is growing most rapidly in Oceania and least rapidly in East Asia. Globally, the type 2 diabetes epidemic has been growing in lockstep with rising obesity levels.
This is not surprising – an increase in body fat and a decrease in physical activity are the direct causes of type 2 (as opposed to type 1) diabetes. In fact, much of the health effects of obesity and physical inactivity are mediated through diabetes.
These health effects are serious. Diabetes already is the major cause of kidney failure, blindness, and lower-limb amputation in many countries, and a major cause of heart attacks and strokes.
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Despite this, surveillance of diabetes remains relatively undeveloped throughout the world, even in high-income countries. Public-health surveillance is “the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of health data for the purpose of preventing and controlling disease” – in short, information for action.
There is nothing in this definition that restricts surveillance to communicable diseases, yet in practice this has generally been the case. The reasons are not hard to find. Communicable disease outbreaks occur over days to weeks (or at the most, months); the danger is “clear and present”; and prevention and control generally requires intervention by the state – the quarantine of victims, tracing and immunization of contacts, or elimination of environmental sources of the infectious agent.
The situation regarding chronic diseases like diabetes is very different. The epidemic happens silently over years or decades; the danger is either not recognized or not considered avoidable; and action is often seen as the responsibility of the individual (lifestyle modification) or health-care system (pharmaceutical prescription), rather than the state.
Yet effective chronic disease surveillance can save lives. If disease trends are monitored, along with patients’ responses to treatment and the population’s exposure to risk factors, the success or failure of policies designed to prevent or control chronic diseases can be evaluated, resource allocation can be rationally prioritized, and the public can be kept fully informed of the risks that they face.
Recognizing this, in December 2005 the New York City Board of Health mandated the laboratory reporting of test results for glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) – a biomarker for diabetes and a key indicator of blood glucose control – thereby creating the world’s first population-based diabetes registry. Mandatory laboratory reporting of HbA1c results (along with basic demographic data) for a defined population (New York City residents) allowed New York’s Department of Health to monitor trends in diabetes prevalence, assess testing coverage, and examine health-care use and glycemic control of residents living with diabetes.
Beyond these population-based surveillance functions, the registry was able to support patient care by ensuring that individual health-care providers and patients were made aware of elevated or rising HbA1c levels. Both the patient-support function and the surveillance function required use of a unique patient identifier, so that letters could be mailed to patients and tests from the same patient could be linked over time.
In 2009, Thomas Frieden and colleagues from the New York City Board of Health reviewed the registry’s first four years of operation and concluded that it was performing well. Getting all laboratories to report regularly and completely, however, proved challenging and not all health-care providers and patients proved willing to participate.
The Board of Health’s initiative has been widely praised as exemplifying the application of classical communicable-disease surveillance-and-control tools to a chronic disease. Other commentators, however, have criticized the registry for potentially compromising patient confidentiality and privacy, and even for disrupting the relationship between patients and their doctors.
While these criticisms may or may not be justified, it is probably true to say that the New York City diabetes registry, though highly innovative, is at best an interim solution. Rather than relying on laboratory reporting of a single biomarker, an ideal chronic-disease surveillance system would extract all necessary data directly from the patient record.
Any diagnosis of diabetes, or subsequent monitoring of disease progression, requires a medical consultation and hence an entry into the patient record – and so into the practice’s patient-management information system. Logically, the surveillance system should operate by extracting the entire subset of data required for surveillance purposes from each health-care provider’s patient management information system (“front-end capture”).
This data would then be securely transferred (electronically) to a suitable data warehouse. After appropriate cleaning (checking for missing data, correcting coding errors), and cloaking, the data would be available for access and querying. Given appropriate statistical analysis and careful interpretation, useful reports could be generated for surveillance purposes and, if desired, for patient-care support as well (using encrypted unique patient identifiers to preserve confidentiality of personal information).
In view of the rising burden of diabetes and other chronic diseases throughout the world, urgent attention must be devoted to strengthening surveillance systems for non-communicable diseases at all levels – from local practices to global institutions.
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ABOUT Martin Tobias
Martin Tobias is a public health physician in Wellington, New Zealand.
Source: Nation of Change
Diabetic Retinopathy: Does Fish Oil Offer Hope?
By Jim Morham
Diabetes, a disease that affects millions of people in the United States is analogous to a fire starting in a house. The fire fighter shows up. He is expecting from his report, to find a fire in one room. The fire that has started in one room of the house quickly spreads to the hallway, then the back room, then to a bed room. If the fire isn’t contained quickly, there is a real possibility of losing the entire house.
Diabetes Is the Fire and the House Is Your Body
For those suffering from diabetes, like the fire, you must be on constant guard by attending to your blood sugar level. Diabetes is an insidious disease that left unchecked, will attack and destroy your body organs, cause coronary heart disease, and may even cause blindness through retinopathy.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Excessive blood glucose levels over time contribute to swelling and pressure to the blood vessels in the retina. As these vessels expand, much like a balloon with too much air in it, they start to bleed. This causes damage over time and can eventually lead to a damaged retina. This is not like getting chest pains; you don’t get lots of warning, and the situation if not identified, can lead to permanent damage to the retina and ultimately blindness.
Is There a Way to Detect This Problem?
Every diabetic whether a type one or type two, should have an eye examination at least once a year. The damage caused to the retina starts the day you become diabetic. Because you may not see any change or feel any symptoms means nothing. The clock is ticking and you need to check with an ophthalmologist each year to monitor the change. Most specialists will tell you that if you are in tight control with blood sugars, with an A1C level of seven or below, you won’t see any signs of damage till about year fifteen.
What Are the Treatment Options?
The best thing you can do is keep your blood sugars in tight control and don’t gain a lot of weight. Every strain you put on your system, whether it’s from out of control blood sugars, to excess weight, to high blood pressure, increases pressure on your entire system including the blood vessels in your eyes. Short of tight blood sugar control, laser surgery is also an option. Once the bleeding starts from blood vessels even this surgery is only a temporary solution.
Good News About Treatment With Omega 3 Fish Oil
New medical research from the Children’s Hospital of Boston has found that a diet rich in Omega 3 fish oil has shown less abnormal blood vessel growth to the retina. This finding is in line with other medical studies promoting the anti-inflammatory effects of Omega 3 fish oil. The fatty acids found in fish oil have a direct impact on fighting inflammation in every part of the body including the eyes. The effect of rich Omega 3 fish oil is essentially like letting some of the air out of a balloon that is expanding to the point of bursting. It only stands to reason that this research corroborates earlier findings of the positive effects of fish oil on the arteries of the cardio vascular system. The same theory applies to blood vessels in the eye.
Conclusion
Now that we know that Omega 3 fish oil offers a defense against the potential damage to the retina due to diabetes, it’s time to be proactive and protect your eye sight before trouble comes knocking.
Jim Morham is a vocal advocate for healthy living and products that promote good health. Due to personal needs, Jim strives to find the very best quality products that aid good health, in order to share them with others. Visit his site at http://purest-omega-3.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Morham
Controlling Diabetes One Day at A Time
Source: Uploaded by PalomaHomeHealth on Nov 4, 2009 to YouTube
This video is for patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.The program covers basic information on disease management.It also explains the importance of regular check-ups,controlling sugar,eating healthy portions and exercise.
Diabetes And Men’s Health
Submitted By: Vivian L. Brennan
Men with diabetes have a higher incidence of erectile dysfunction (ED): a man with diabetes has a 4 in 5 chance of facing ED, whereas a man without diabetes has a 1 in 5 chance.
Erectile Dysfunction refers to an inability to achieve or maintain an erection hard enough for sexual intercourse. It falls under the blanket term impotence, which also covers other sexual problems such as lack of arousal and the inability to orgasm. Erectile dysfunction is not simply an occasional inability to perform sexually that occurs to every man; if you have erectile dysfunction, you will be unable to achieve or maintain an erection over 50% of the time.
Although erectile dysfunction often occurs with age, it is not a normal part of aging and can be treated. For men with diabetes, erectile dysfunction occurs an average of 10-15 years earlier than in other men.
Why does diabetes often lead to erectile dysfunction? Diabetes is linked with many nervous system disorders, and erectile dysfunction can be caused by nerve damage. Nervous system damage can cause erectile dysfunction because the nervous system tells your body when you are aroused. If you are emotionally aroused but your nervous system cannot send the message to your penis, then you will not get an erection. Diabetes can also cause blood vessel disorder. Vascular damage (damage to the blood vessels) alters the blood flow in the body. As an erection is caused when corpora cavernosa in the penis are filled with blood, vascular damage can affect erections. Erections are caused by the interplay of the nervous system and the vascular system, along with other factors.
People with diabetes are more apt to be depressed. Depression might be caused by poor blood sugar control and hormonal imbalance. Psychological factors can play a large role in erectile dysfunction.
How can you prevent erectile dysfunction if you have diabetes?
• Control your blood sugar levels. This will help you prevent possible nerve damage or damage to your vascular system. These are two of the complications from diabetes that can lead to erectile dysfunction.
• Talk to you doctor or health team. They will be particularly helpful for you if you are trying to maintain even blood sugar.
• Quit smoking. Smoking damages your blood vessels by making them contract.
• Don’t drink excessively. Excessive alcohol consumption can also damage your blood vessels.
• Exercise. Having a steady exercise regimen will help keep your nervous system and vascular system healthy.
• Eat well. Eating a well-balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been proven to prevent complications in diabetes, and will help you control your blood sugar levels.
• Calm yourself. If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, or other psychological issue that is inhibiting your sexual performance, see a professional. Often just the fear of erectile dysfunction is enough to hamper performance.
Treatments
If you are suffering from erectile dysfunction, consider seeing a urologist. A urologist specializes in sexual health and will be able to help you decide on the best treatment program. You might be prescribed medication, such as Viagra, that will help you achieve an erection. You might also consider using a vacuum pump to help blood enter the penis. To maintain the erection you place a ring at the base of the penis. You might consider having an implant or penile injections.
Before taking any medical action, try using the tips above to manage your erectile dysfunction. Diabetes does not necessarily have to lead to complications, which includes erectile dysfunction. You can lead a normal sexual life, even as you grow older. Knowing this information might help you find sexual energy you didn’t know you had!
Published At: Isnare.com Free Articles Directory – http://www.isnare.com/
Vivian Brennan is an expert on diabetes, and is currently an editor at The Guide to Diabetes. She believes in educating people about diabetes to help manage diabetes, prevent complications, and improve lifestyles.
Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Stroke
Education Programs
On this page:
-
- What is diabetes?
- What is pre-diabetes?
- What is the connection between diabetes, heart disease, and stroke?
- What are the risk factors for heart disease and stroke in people with diabetes?
- What is metabolic syndrome and how is it linked to heart disease?
- What can I do to prevent or delay heart disease and stroke?
- How will I know whether my diabetes treatment is working?
- What types of heart and blood vessel disease occur in people with diabetes?
- How will I know whether I have heart disease?
- What are the treatment options for heart disease?
- How will I know whether I have had a stroke?
- What are the treatment options for stroke?
- Points to Remember
- Hope through Research
- For More Information
Having diabetes or pre-diabetes puts you at increased risk for heart disease and stroke. You can lower your risk by keeping your blood glucose (also called blood sugar), blood pressure, and blood cholesterol close to the recommended target numbers-the levels suggested by diabetes experts for good health. (For more information about target numbers for people with diabetes, see “How will I know whether I have heart disease?”.) Reaching your targets also can help prevent narrowing or blockage of the blood vessels in your legs, a condition called peripheral arterial disease. You can reach your targets by:
- choosing foods wisely
- being physically active
- taking medications if needed
If you have already had a heart attack or a stroke, taking care of yourself can help prevent future health problems.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism-the way our bodies use digested food for energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood. Glucose is the body’s main source of fuel.
After digestion, glucose enters the bloodstream. Then glucose goes to cells throughout the body where it is used for energy. However, a hormone called insulin must be present to allow glucose to enter the cells. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach.
In people who do not have diabetes, the pancreas automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move glucose from blood into the cells. However, diabetes develops when the pancreas does not make enough insulin, or the cells in the muscles, liver, and fat do not use insulin properly, or both. As a result, the amount of glucose in the blood increases while the cells are starved of energy.
Over time, high blood glucose levels damage nerves and blood vessels, leading to complications such as heart disease and stroke, the leading causes of death among people with diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes can eventually lead to other health problems as well, such as vision loss, kidney failure, and amputations.
Diabetes can lead to heart and blood vessel disease.
What is pre-diabetes?
Pre-diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. Pre-diabetes is also called impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. Many people with pre-diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years. In addition, they are at risk for heart disease and stroke. With modest weight loss and moderate physical activity, people with pre-diabetes can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes and lower their risk of heart disease and stroke.
What is the connection between diabetes, heart disease, and stroke?
If you have diabetes, you are at least twice as likely as someone who does not have diabetes to have heart disease or a stroke. People with diabetes also tend to develop heart disease or have strokes at an earlier age than other people. If you are middle-aged and have type 2 diabetes, some studies suggest that your chance of having a heart attack is as high as someone without diabetes who has already had one heart attack. Women who have not gone through menopause usually have less risk of heart disease than men of the same age. But women of all ages with diabetes have an increased risk of heart disease because diabetes cancels out the protective effects of being a woman in her child-bearing years.
People with diabetes who have already had one heart attack run an even greater risk of having a second one. In addition, heart attacks in people with diabetes are more serious and more likely to result in death. High blood glucose levels over time can lead to increased deposits of fatty materials on the insides of the blood vessel walls. These deposits may affect blood flow, increasing the chance of clogging and hardening of blood vessels (atherosclerosis).
What are the risk factors for heart disease and stroke in people with diabetes?
Diabetes itself is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Also, many people with diabetes have other conditions that increase their chance of developing heart disease and stroke. These conditions are called risk factors. One risk factor for heart disease and stroke is having a family history of heart disease. If one or more members of your family had a heart attack at an early age (before age 55 for men or 65 for women), you may be at increased risk.
You can’t change whether heart disease runs in your family, but you can take steps to control the other risk factors for heart disease listed here:
- Having central obesity.
- Central obesity means carrying extra weight around the waist, as opposed to the hips. A waist measurement of more than 40 inches for men and more than 35 inches for women means you have central obesity. Your risk of heart disease is higher because abdominal fat can increase the production of LDL (bad) cholesterol, the type of blood fat that can be deposited on the inside of blood vessel walls.
- Having abnormal blood fat (cholesterol) levels.
-
- LDL cholesterol can build up inside your blood vessels, leading to narrowing and hardening of your arteries-the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Arteries can then become blocked. Therefore, high levels of LDL cholesterol raise your risk of getting heart disease.
- Triglycerides are another type of blood fat that can raise your risk of heart disease when the levels are high.
- HDL (good) cholesterol removes deposits from inside your blood vessels and takes them to the liver for removal. Low levels of HDL cholesterol increase your risk for heart disease. - Having high blood pressure.
- If you have high blood pressure, also called hypertension, your heart must work harder to pump blood. High blood pressure can strain the heart, damage blood vessels, and increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, eye problems, and kidney problems.
- Smoking.
- Smoking doubles your risk of getting heart disease. Stopping smoking is especially important for people with diabetes because both smoking and diabetes narrow blood vessels. Smoking also increases the risk of other long-term complications, such as eye problems. In addition, smoking can damage the blood vessels in your legs and increase the risk of amputation.
What is metabolic syndrome and how is it linked to heart disease?
Metabolic syndrome is a grouping of traits and medical conditions that puts people at risk for both heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It is defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program as having any three of the following five traits and medical conditions:
Traits and Medical Conditions
Definition
Elevated waist circumference
Waist measurement of
- 40 inches or more in men
- 35 inches or more in women
Elevated levels of triglycerides
- 150 mg/dL or higher
or - Taking medication for elevated triglyceride levels
Low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol
- Below 40 mg/dL in men
- Below 50 mg/dL in women
or
Taking medication for low HDL cholesterol levels
Elevated blood pressure levels
- 130 mm Hg or higher for systolic blood pressure or
- 85 mm Hg or higher for diastolic blood pressure
or
Taking medication for elevated blood pressure levels
Elevated fasting blood glucose levels
- 100 mg/dL or higher
or - Taking medication for elevated blood glucose levels
What can I do to prevent or delay heart disease and stroke?
Even if you are at high risk for heart disease and stroke, you can help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy. You can do so by taking the following steps:
- Make sure that your diet is “heart-healthy.”Meet with a registered dietitian to plan a diet that meets these goals:
- Include at least 14 grams of fiber daily for every 1,000 calories consumed. Foods high in fiber may help lower blood cholesterol. Oat bran, oatmeal, whole-grain breads and cereals, dried beans and peas (such as kidney beans, pinto beans, and black-eyed peas), fruits, and vegetables are all good sources of fiber. Increase the amount of fiber in your diet gradually to avoid digestive problems.
- Cut down on saturated fat. It raises your blood cholesterol level. Saturated fat is found in meats, poultry skin, butter, dairy products with fat, shortening, lard, and tropical oils such as palm and coconut oil. Your dietitian can figure out how many grams of saturated fat should be your daily maximum amount.
- Keep the cholesterol in your diet to less than 300 milligrams a day. Cholesterol is found in meat, dairy products, and eggs.
- Keep the amount of trans fat in your diet to a minimum. It’s a type of fat in foods that raises blood cholesterol. Limit your intake of crackers, cookies, snack foods, commercially prepared baked goods, cake mixes, microwave popcorn, fried foods, salad dressings, and other foods made with partially hydrogenated oil. In addition, some kinds of vegetable shortening and margarines have trans fat. Check for trans fat in the Nutrition Facts section on the food package.
- Make physical activity part of your routine. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. Think of ways to increase physical activity, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator. If you haven’t been physically active recently, see your doctor for a checkup before you start an exercise program.
- Reach and maintain a healthy body weight. If you are overweight, try to be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week. Consult a registered dietitian for help in planning meals and lowering the fat and calorie content of your diet to reach and maintain a healthy weight. Aim for a loss of no more than 1 to 2 pounds a week.
- If you smoke, quit. Your doctor can help you find ways to quit smoking.
- Ask your doctor whether you should take aspirin. Studies have shown that taking a low dose of aspirin every day can help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. However, aspirin is not safe for everyone. Your doctor can tell you whether taking aspirin is right for you and exactly how much to take.
- Get prompt treatment for transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). Early treatment for TIAs, sometimes called mini-strokes, may help prevent or delay a future stroke. Signs of a TIA are sudden weakness, loss of balance, numbness, confusion, blindness in one or both eyes, double vision, difficulty speaking, or a severe headache.
How will I know whether my diabetes treatment is working?
You can keep track of the ABCs of diabetes to make sure your treatment is working. Talk with your health care provider about the best targets for you.
A stands for A1C (a test that measures blood glucose control). Have an A1C test at least twice a year. It shows your average blood glucose level over the past 3 months. Talk with your doctor about whether you should check your blood glucose at home and how to do it.
A1C target
Below 7 percent
Blood glucose targets
Before meals
90 to 130 mg/dL
1 to 2 hours after the start of a meal
Less than 180 mg/dL
B is for blood pressure. Have it checked at every office visit.
Blood pressure target
Below 130/80 mm Hg
C is for cholesterol. Have it checked at least once a year.
Blood fat (cholesterol) targets
LDL (bad) cholesterol
Under 100 mg/dL
Triglycerides
Under 150 mg/dL
HDL (good) cholesterol
For men: above 40 mg/dL
For women: above 50 mg/dL
Control of the ABCs of diabetes can reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke. If your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels aren’t on target, ask your doctor what changes in diet, activity, and medications can help you reach these goals.
What types of heart and blood vessel disease occur in people with diabetes?
Two major types of heart and blood vessel disease, also called cardiovascular disease, are common in people with diabetes: coronary artery disease (CAD) and cerebral vascular disease. People with diabetes are also at risk for heart failure. Narrowing or blockage of the blood vessels in the legs, a condition called peripheral arterial disease, can also occur in people with diabetes.
Coronary Artery Disease
Coronary artery disease, also called ischemic heart disease, is caused by a hardening or thickening of the walls of the blood vessels that go to your heart. Your blood supplies oxygen and other materials your heart needs for normal functioning. If the blood vessels to your heart become narrowed or blocked by fatty deposits, the blood supply is reduced or cut off, resulting in a heart attack.
Cerebral Vascular Disease
Cerebral vascular disease affects blood flow to the brain, leading to strokes and TIAs. It is caused by narrowing, blocking, or hardening of the blood vessels that go to the brain or by high blood pressure.
Stroke
A stroke results when the blood supply to the brain is suddenly cut off, which can occur when a blood vessel in the brain or neck is blocked or bursts. Brain cells are then deprived of oxygen and die. A stroke can result in problems with speech or vision or can cause weakness or paralysis. Most strokes are caused by fatty deposits or blood clots-jelly-like clumps of blood cells-that narrow or block one of the blood vessels in the brain or neck. A blood clot may stay where it formed or can travel within the body. People with diabetes are at increased risk for strokes caused by blood clots.
A stroke may also be caused by a bleeding blood vessel in the brain. Called an aneurysm, a break in a blood vessel can occur as a result of high blood pressure or a weak spot in a blood vessel wall.
TIAs
TIAs are caused by a temporary blockage of a blood vessel to the brain. This blockage leads to a brief, sudden change in brain function, such as temporary numbness or weakness on one side of the body. Sudden changes in brain function also can lead to loss of balance, confusion, blindness in one or both eyes, double vision, difficulty speaking, or a severe headache. However, most symptoms disappear quickly and permanent damage is unlikely. If symptoms do not resolve in a few minutes, rather than a TIA, the event could be a stroke. The occurrence of a TIA means that a person is at risk for a stroke sometime in the future. See page 3 for more information on risk factors for stroke.
Heart Failure
Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart cannot pump blood properly-it does not mean that the heart suddenly stops working. Heart failure develops over a period of years, and symptoms can get worse over time. People with diabetes have at least twice the risk of heart failure as other people. One type of heart failure is congestive heart failure, in which fluid builds up inside body tissues. If the buildup is in the lungs, breathing becomes difficult.
Blockage of the blood vessels and high blood glucose levels also can damage heart muscle and cause irregular heart beats. People with damage to heart muscle, a condition called cardiomyopathy, may have no symptoms in the early stages, but later they may experience weakness, shortness of breath, a severe cough, fatigue, and swelling of the legs and feet. Diabetes can also interfere with pain signals normally carried by the nerves, explaining why a person with diabetes may not experience the typical warning signs of a heart attack.
Peripheral Arterial Disease
Another condition related to heart disease and common in people with diabetes is peripheral arterial disease (PAD). With this condition, the blood vessels in the legs are narrowed or blocked by fatty deposits, decreasing blood flow to the legs and feet. PAD increases the chances of a heart attack or stroke occurring. Poor circulation in the legs and feet also raises the risk of amputation. Sometimes people with PAD develop pain in the calf or other parts of the leg when walking, which is relieved by resting for a few minutes.
How will I know whether I have heart disease?
One sign of heart disease is angina, the pain that occurs when a blood vessel to the heart is narrowed and the blood supply is reduced. You may feel pain or discomfort in your chest, shoulders, arms, jaw, or back, especially when you exercise. The pain may go away when you rest or take angina medicine. Angina does not cause permanent damage to the heart muscle, but if you have angina, your chance of having a heart attack increases.
A heart attack occurs when a blood vessel to the heart becomes blocked. With blockage, not enough blood can reach that part of the heart muscle and permanent damage results. During a heart attack, you may have
- chest pain or discomfort
- pain or discomfort in your arms, back, jaw, neck, or stomach
- shortness of breath
- sweating
- nausea
- light-headedness
Symptoms may come and go. However, in some people, particularly those with diabetes, symptoms may be mild or absent due to a condition in which the heart rate stays at the same level during exercise, inactivity, stress, or sleep. Also, nerve damage caused by diabetes may result in lack of pain during a heart attack.
Women may not have chest pain but may be more likely to have shortness of breath, nausea, or back and jaw pain. If you have symptoms of a heart attack, call 911 right away. Treatment is most effective if given within an hour of a heart attack. Early treatment can prevent permanent damage to the heart.
Your doctor should check your risk for heart disease and stroke at least once a year by checking your cholesterol and blood pressure levels and asking whether you smoke or have a family history of premature heart disease. The doctor can also check your urine for protein, another risk factor for heart disease. If you are at high risk or have symptoms of heart disease, you may need to undergo further testing.
What are the treatment options for heart disease?
Treatment for heart disease includes meal planning to ensure a heart-healthy diet and physical activity. In addition, you may need medications to treat heart damage or to lower your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol. If you are not already taking a low dose of aspirin every day, your doctor may suggest it. You also may need surgery or some other medical procedure.
For additional information about heart and blood vessel disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, call the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Health Information Center at 301-592-8573 or see www.nhlbi.nih.gov on the Internet.
How will I know whether I have had a stroke?
The following signs may mean that you have had a stroke:
- sudden weakness or numbness of your face, arm, or leg on one side of your body
- sudden confusion, trouble talking, or trouble understanding
- sudden dizziness, loss of balance, or trouble walking
- sudden trouble seeing out of one or both eyes or sudden double vision
- sudden severe headache
If you have any of these symptoms, call 911 right away. You can help prevent permanent damage by getting to a hospital within an hour of a stroke. If your doctor thinks you have had a stroke, you may have tests such as a neurological examination to check your nervous system, special scans, blood tests, ultrasound examinations, or x rays. You also may be given medication that dissolves blood clots.
What are the treatment options for stroke?
At the first sign of a stroke, you should get medical care right away. If blood vessels to your brain are blocked by blood clots, the doctor can give you a “clot-busting” drug. The drug must be given soon after a stroke to be effective. Subsequent treatment for stroke includes medications and physical therapy, as well as surgery to repair the damage. Meal planning and physical activity may be part of your ongoing care. In addition, you may need medications to lower your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol and to prevent blood clots.
For additional information about strokes, call the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at 1-800-352-9424 or see www.ninds.nih.gov on the Internet.
Points to Remember
- If you have diabetes, you are at least twice as likely as other people to have heart disease or a stroke.
- Controlling the ABCs of diabetes-A1C (blood glucose), blood pressure, and cholesterol-can cut your risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Choosing foods wisely, being physically active, losing weight, quitting smoking, and taking medications (if needed) can all help lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.
- If you have any warning signs of a heart attack or a stroke, get medical care immediately-don’t delay. Early treatment of heart attack and stroke in a hospital emergency room can reduce damage to the heart and the brain.
For More Information
National Diabetes Education Program
1 Diabetes Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3600
Phone: 1-800-438-5383
Fax: 703-738-4929
Internet: www.ndep.nih.gov
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Health Information Center
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda, MD 20824-0105
Phone: 301-592-8573
Fax: 301-592-8563
Email: nhlbiinfo@nhlbi.nih.gov
Internet: www.nhlbi.nih.gov
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Brain Resources and Information Network (BRAIN)
P.O. Box 5801
Bethesda, MD 20824-5801
Phone: 1-800-352-9424
Fax: 301-402-2186
Internet: www.ninds.nih.gov
Weight-control Information Network
1 WIN Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3665
Phone: 1-877-946-4627
Fax: 202-828-1028
Email: win@info.niddk.nih.gov
Internet: www.win.niddk.nih.gov
American Diabetes Association
National Call Center
1701 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, VA 22311-1742
Phone: 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383)
Fax: 703-549-6995
Email: askADA@diabetes.org
Internet: www.diabetes.org 
American Association of Diabetes Educators
100 West Monroe, Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60603-1922
Phone: 1-800-338-3633
Diabetes Educator Access Line: 1-800-TEAMUP4 (1-800-832-6874)
Fax: 312-424-2427
Email: aade@aadenet.org
Internet: www.diabeteseducator.org
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
120 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005-4001
Phone: 1-800-533-2873
Fax: 212-785-9595
Email: info@jdrf.org
Internet: www.jdrf.org
American Heart Association
7272 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75231-4596
Phone: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)
Fax: 214-369-3685
Internet: www.americanheart.org
Source:
The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health.
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse
1 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3560
Phone: 1-800-860-8747
TTY: 1-866-569-1162
Fax: 1-703-738-4929
Email: ndic@info.niddk.nih.gov
Internet: www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
Type 2 Diabetes: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow
- Diabetes, Type 2
YESTERDAY
- No proven strategies existed to prevent the disease or its complications.
- The only ways to treat diabetes were the now-obsolete forms of insulin from cows and pigs, and drugs that stimulate insulin release from the beta cells of the pancreas (sulfonylureas). Both of these therapies cause dangerous low blood sugar reactions and weight gain. Patients monitored their glucose levels with urine tests, which recognized high but not dangerously low glucose levels and reflected past, not current, glucose levels. More reliable methods for testing glucose levels in the blood had not been developed yet.
- While scientists knew that genes played a role (i.e., the disease often runs in families), they had not identified any specific culprit genes.
- National efforts were not being made to combat obesity—a serious risk factor for the disease. Fewer people developed type 2 diabetes compared to today because overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity were not pervasive.
- Patients were almost exclusively adults—the reason that the disease was formerly called “adult onset diabetes.” It was rare in children or young adults.
TODAY
- Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed. The NIH-funded Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) clinical trial (http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/preventionprogram/) found a lifestyle intervention (modest weight loss of 5 to 7 percent of body weight and 30 minutes of exercise 5 times weekly) reduced the risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 58 percent in a diverse population of over 3000 adults at high risk for diabetes. In another arm of the study, the drug metformin reduced development of diabetes by 31 percent.
- Based on the DPP findings, the National Diabetes Education Program developed the education campaign, “Small Steps. Big Rewards. Prevent Type 2 Diabetes.” to help people at high risk take the necessary steps to prevent the disease (www.ndep.nih.gov).
- Ongoing NIH translational research efforts are testing cost effective ways to deliver the DPP-proven lifestyle change in real-world settings. This vigorous effort is needed to address the escalating prevalence of type 2 diabetes which now affects 7.8 percent of Americans, disproportionate affects minorities, and is conservatively estimated to be the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.
- Type 2 diabetes is increasing in children, in tandem with rising obesity rates. This trend is alarming because, as younger people develop the disease, the complications, morbidity, and mortality associated with diabetes are all likely to occur earlier. Also, offspring of women with type 2 diabetes are more likely to develop the disease. Thus, the burgeoning of diabetes in younger populations could lead to a vicious cycle of ever-growing rates of diabetes.
- The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study (www.searchfordiabetes.org) has provided the first national data on incidence and prevalence of diabetes in youth. About 3700 youth under 20 years old are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each year, and the disease is particularly prevalent in minority youth.
- Research has vastly expanded understanding of the molecular underpinnings of diabetes and its complications. Recent work has boosted to nearly 40 the number of gene regions associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, laying the foundation for new approaches to prevention and therapy.
- NIH-supported clinical trials validated a marker called hemoglobin A1C (A1C). This marker reflects average blood sugar control over a 3 month period. This technology, along with tests that allow patients to monitor their own blood glucose throughout the day, helps make better blood glucose control achievable for many people with type 2 diabetes.
- Because lower A1C levels have been shown to be predictive of longer life and fewer complications, the test has helped speed development and approval of better forms of insulin and new diabetes medicines that work though a variety of mechanisms. New drugs are available that lower glucose without weight gain or even with modest weight loss. Several agents targeting the specific metabolic abnormalities of type 2 diabetes are now available and can be combined, thus delaying the need for insulin.
- Tight blood sugar control has become a standard of treatment for most diabetes patients based on results from NIH clinical trials demonstrating that keeping A1C below 7 can prevent or delay devastating disease complications.
- A large clinical trial showed that older patients with longstanding type 2 diabetes at high risk of heart disease do not benefit from more intensive blood glucose control than is currently recommended. These findings spare patients from unneeded therapy and provide important data to help individualize therapy, with less stringent A1C targets suggested for some people such as those with advanced diabetes complications.
- Clinical trials have shown that blood pressure and lipid control reduce diabetes complications by up to 50 percent. Physicians are now much better equipped to prevent and control heart disease, which often accompanies diabetes, and is the leading cause of death in people with diabetes.
- Nationwide improvements in risk factor control show research-proven strategies are being translated into practice. Improvements in control of cholesterol, blood glucose, and blood pressure have added an estimated one year to the expected lifespan of a person with type 2 diabetes since 1992, and improved quality of life by reducing the incidence of burdensome complications like blindness, lower limb amputations, kidney failure, and coronary heart disease.
- As a result of research proving their benefits, Medicare now covers blood glucose self monitoring materials and diabetes education services, helping people to better control their diabetes.
- Kidney disease can be detected earlier via urine tests. Therefore, patients can be treated earlier to slow the rate of kidney damage. Improved control of glucose and blood pressure prevents or delays progression of kidney disease to kidney failure. With good care, less than 10 percent of patients develop kidney failure.
- With timely laser surgery and appropriate follow-up care, people with advanced diabetic retinopathy can reduce their risk of blindness by 90 percent. A recent study showed a drug which limits blood vessel growth can be an important supplement to laser therapy for diabetic macular edema.
- The NIH spent over $1.1 billion on diabetes research in fiscal year 2009. In 2007, total costs attributable to diabetes for Americans was estimated at $174 billion—an increase of 32 percent since 2002.
TOMORROW
- Research will find better ways to bring proven diabetes prevention strategies to more people at lower cost.
- Earlier and more aggressive treatment approaches may help better prevent diabetes complications.
- New understanding of the biology of obesity and insulin resistance is informing the development of new therapeutics to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.
- Identification of susceptibility genes for diabetes and its complications will enable earlier implementation of prevention measures targeted to those at highest risk.
- Research on the effect of maternal diabetes on offspring may help to break the vicious diabetes cycle.
- Continued research on the mechanisms underlying the development and progression of disease complications will result in the ability to predict who is likely to develop them. Personalized treatments could then be developed to preempt complications. This strategy would dramatically improve the health and well-being of patients.
- NIH clinical trials will identify new approaches to prevent and treat the emerging problem of type 2 diabetes in children.
For more information, contact The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): NIDDKinquiries@nih.gov
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases www.niddk.nih.gov
Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Diabetes: The Worldwide Epidemic
by Ty Bolton (submitted 2011-06-04)
Diabetes has become an ever increasing problem, and is a worldwide epidemic. There’s an estimated 285 million people living with diabetes. That number is expected to grow to almost 430 million by the year 2030, and affect 7% of the World’s adult population.
The majority of those being diagnosed with diabetes live in low income countries. India currently has the largest population of those diagnosed with diabetes. Estimates say there are 40 million people living with diabetes in India alone, followed by China. Africa is expected to have the largest increase of diabetes in the years to come.
Diabetes can affect a person at any age, but people between the ages of 40-59 have the highest risk of being diagnosed with the disease. There’s been an increase of diabetes in all nations, for the last 50 years.
In spite of warnings from health organizations, the epidemic continues to grow throughout the world. Leaders from around the world still continue to ignore the threat. Complications from diabetes are one of the leading causes of premature death.
There are many people that live with Type 2 Diabetes for years before being diagnosed. Living with diabetes for an extended period of time without any treatment will cause many adverse health problems.
If diabetes is left untreated, the complications can range from kidney failure to death. Type 2 Diabetes can be prevented in 80-85% of people, if they change their lifestyle. Managing Type 2 Diabetes is as simple as changing your diet and exercising.
A good quality of life, can often times reverse Type 2 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is diagnosed among minorities and lower income people more than any other group. Environmental factors, and poor living conditions also play a part in developing Type 2 Diabetes.
These groups normally don’t’ have the income or access to healthy foods that can help prevent them from getting the disease. Instead, they have to consume unhealthy processed foods and drinks.
Substance abuse can also play a role in contributing to diabetes. If you’re a diabetic, you should never smoke or drink alcohol. Getting plenty of rest and reducing your stress levels will help reduce your chances of developing further diabetes complications.
Know and understand the early warning signs and symptoms of diabetes. If you’re at risk for premature diabetes, change your lifestyle and see your doctor. A simple treatment plan and lifestyle change will possibly save you from being diagnosed with diabetes.
Diabetes is a deadly disease, and accounts for thousands of deaths each year from complications. Each year, diabetes kills the same amount of people as those who die from HIV/AIDS complications each year.
About the Author
We all should learn more about the causes of diabetes and how food, cigarettes and other factors contribute to diabetes. http://1n2.co
Ty Bolton
Source: GoArticles.com © 2011, All Rights Reserved.
Patti Labelle: Living with Diabetes
Source: Uploaded by mediaADA on Jun 28, 2007 to YouTube
Patti Labelle explains how working with a registered dietitian can help you live a healthy life if you have diabetes.
Diabetics get Blood Vessels Made From Donor Cells
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer
2:28 p.m., June 27, 2011
Three dialysis patients have received the world’s first blood vessels grown in a lab from donated skin cells. It’s a key step toward creating a supply of ready-to-use arteries and veins that could be used to treat diabetics, soldiers with damaged limbs, people having heart bypass surgery and others.
The goal is to one day have a refrigerated inventory of these in various sizes and shapes that surgeons could order up as needed like bandages and other medical supplies.
The work so far is still early-stage. Three patients in Poland have received the new vessels, which are working well two to eight months later. But doctors are excited because this builds on earlier success in about a dozen patients given blood vessels grown in the lab from their own skin – a process too long and expensive to be practical.
“This version, built from a master donor, is available off the shelf and at a dramatically reduced cost,” estimated at $6,000 to $10,000, said Todd McAllister, chief of Cytograft Tissue Engineering Inc., the San Francisco-area company leading the work.
The American Heart Association considers it so promising that the group featured it on Monday in the first of a new series of webcasts about cutting-edge science.
“This is tremendously exciting,” because the failure of blood vessels used in dialysis is “a huge public health problem,” said Duke University‘s Dr. Robert Harrington, a heart expert who had no role in the work.
If a larger study getting under way now in Europe and South America shows success, “this is big news,” Harrington said.
Kidney failure, which is common in diabetics, requires dialysis to filter wastes from the blood through a connection between an artery and a vein called a shunt. It gets punctured several times a week to hook patients up to the dialysis machine, and complications include blood clots, clogging and infection.
What’s more, patients often run out of suitable sites for these shunts as problems develop. Plastic versions have high rates of failure and complications, too. Doctors have long wished for a natural substitute.
The lab-grown vessels are free of artificial materials. They don’t involve stem cells, so they’re not controversial.
Researchers start with a snip of skin from the back of a hand, remove cells and grow them into sheets of tissue that are rolled up like straws to form blood vessels.
So far, these lab-grown vessels have been tolerated by the recipients’ immune systems; no anti-rejection medicine or tissue matching is needed. That’s not surprising because lab-grown skin is already used to treat many burn victims.
“There are literally hundreds of thousands of patients that could use this technology,” McAllister said.
Each year, nearly 400,000 Americans undergo dialysis and half of them use plastic shunts. More than 160,000 people lose limbs because of poor circulation that might be improved with lab-grown vessels.
About 300,000 people have heart bypass operations using blood vessels taken from other parts of the body to create detours around clogged heart arteries. Some heart patients say the leg wound from removing the long vein to create heart bypasses hurts more than the chest wound for the open-heart surgery.
In 2005, Cytograft reported success with its first attempt at dialysis shunts using patients’ own skin. Some of the early work was sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
The new work, using donor cells, makes this advance more practical for wide use, said Dr. Timothy Gardner, a heart surgeon at Christiana Care Health Services in Newark, Del., and former American Heart Association president.
“It provides the option or the opportunity for off-the-shelf graft availability as opposed to something that has to be built from the individual’s own cells,” he said.
Cytograft plans a study in Europe and South America comparing 40 patients getting the lab-grown vessels to 20 getting plastic shunts. Studies also are planned on a mesh version for people with poor leg circulation.
Online:
Company and video: http://www.cytograft.com
Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP
Source: The Associated Press/San Diego Union-Tribune
Diabetic Foot Care – Podiatrist in Jacksonville, FL
Source: Uploaded by webpowervideo on Dec 3, 2009 to YouTube
According to the American Diabetes Association, about 15.7 million people (5.9 percent of the United States population) have diabetes. Nervous system damage (also called neuropathy) affects about 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes and is a major complication that may cause diabetics to lose feeling in their feet or hands.
Foot problems are a big risk in diabetics. Diabetics must constantly monitor their feet or face severe consequences, including amputation.
With a diabetic foot, a wound as small as a blister from wearing a shoe that’s too tight can cause a lot of damage. Diabetes decreases blood flow, so injuries are slow to heal. When your wound is not healing, it’s at risk for infection. As a diabetic, your infections spread quickly. If you have diabetes, you should inspect your feet every day. Look for puncture wounds, bruises, pressure areas, redness, warmth, blisters, ulcers, scratches, cuts and nail problems. Get someone to help you, or use a mirror.
Here’s some basic advice for taking care of your feet:
Always keep your feet warm.Don’t get your feet wet in snow or rain.
Don’t put your feet on radiators or in front of the fireplace.
Don’t smoke or sit cross-legged. Both decrease blood supply to your feet.
Don’t soak your feet.
Don’t use antiseptic solutions, drugstore medications, heating pads or sharp instruments on your feet.
Trim your toenails straight across. Avoid cutting the corners. Use a nail file or emery board. If you find an ingrown toenail, contact our office.
Use quality lotion to keep the skin of your feet soft and moist, but don’t put any lotion between your toes.
Wash your feet every day with mild soap and warm water.
Wear loose socks to bed.
Wear warm socks and shoes in winter.
When drying your feet, pat each foot with a towel and be careful between your toes.
Buy shoes that are comfortable without a “breaking in” period. Check how your shoe fits in width, length, back, bottom of heel, and sole. Avoid pointed-toe styles and high heels. Try to get shoes made with leather upper material and deep toe boxes. Wear new shoes for only two hours or less at a time. Don’t wear the same pair everyday. Inspect the inside of each shoe before putting it on. Don’t lace your shoes too tightly or loosely.
Choose socks and stockings carefully. Wear clean, dry socks every day. Avoid socks with holes or wrinkles. Thin cotton socks are more absorbent for summer wear. Square-toes socks will not squeeze your toes. Avoid stockings with elastic tops.
When your feet become numb, they are at risk for becoming deformed. One way this happens is through ulcers. Open sores may become infected. Another way is the bone condition Charcot (pronounced “sharko”) foot. This is one of the most serious foot problems you can face. It warps the shape of your foot when your bones fracture and disintegrate, and yet you continue to walk on it because it doesn’t hurt. Diabetic foot ulcers and early phases of Charcot fractures can be treated with a total contact cast.
The shape of your foot molds the cast. It lets your ulcer heal by distributing weight and relieving pressure. If you have Charcot foot, the cast controls your foot’s movement and supports its contours if you don’t put any weight on it. To use a total contact cast, you need good blood flow in your foot. The cast is changed every week or two until your foot heals. A custom-walking boot is another way to treat your Charcot foot. It supports the foot until all the swelling goes down, which can take as long as a year. You should keep from putting your weight on the Charcot foot. Surgery is considered if your deformity is too severe for a brace or shoe.
Visit our website: http://www.firstcoastfootclinic.com
Canadian Diabetes Association – FYI
Margaret Wallis-Duffy, Real Life Wellness Expert, chats with Sylvia & Karen about the deeper issues involved with diabetes and how the Canadian Diabetes Association is helping.
Source: ReaLifeonCTS on YouTube
FDA Approves New Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes
FDA NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: May 2, 2011
FDA approves new treatment for Type 2 diabetes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Tradjenta (linagliptin) tablets, used with diet and exercise, to improve blood glucose control in adults with Type 2 diabetes.
People with Type 2 diabetes do not produce or respond normally to insulin, a hormone that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood. Over time, high blood glucose levels can increase the risk for serious complications, including heart disease, blindness, and nerve and kidney damage.
“This approval provides another treatment option for the millions of Americans with Type 2 diabetes,” said Mary Parks, M.D., director of the Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “It is effective when used alone or when added to existing treatment regimens.”
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease, affecting between 90 percent and 95 percent of the 24 million people in the United States with diabetes. Tradjenta increases the level of hormones that stimulate the release of insulin after a meal by blocking the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 or DPP-4, which leads to better blood glucose control.
Tradjenta was demonstrated to be safe and effective in eight double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies involving about 3,800 patients with Type 2 diabetes. The studies showed improvement in blood glucose control compared with placebo.
Tradjenta has been studied as a stand-alone therapy and in combination with other Type 2 diabetes therapies including metformin, glimepiride, and pioglitazone. Tradjenta has not been studied in combination with insulin, and should not be used to treat people with Type 1 diabetes or in those who have increased ketones in their blood or urine (diabetic ketoacidosis).
Tradjenta will be dispensed with an FDA-approved Patient Package Insert that explains the drug’s uses and risks. The most common side effects of Tradjenta are upper respiratory infection, stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, and headache.
Tradjenta is marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ridgefield, Conn., and Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly Co.
For more information:
Source: FDA – U.S. Food and Drug Administration
4 Steps to Control Your Diabetes For Life
NDEP is a partnership of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 200 public and private organizations.
4 Steps to Control Your Diabetes. For Life.
4 Steps to Control Your Diabetes. For Life.
Also available in these languages:
Cambodian, Chinese, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Hmong, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Samoan, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Tongan, Vietnamese
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Take Care of Your Heart. Manage Your Diabetes (in English)
(NDEP-52EN)
This patient education sheet explains the link between diabetes and heart disease. It encourages patients to work with their health care team to set targets and manage their blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol. It includes a record form to track target numbers.
Tips to Help You Stay Healthy
(NDEP-8)
This tip sheet helps people work with their health care team to make a successful diabetes action plan.
In addition to a downloadable file (PDF) of the four-page tip sheet, online only, two-page PDF versions in two-color and black &white formats are available for ease of printing.
Find Similar Publications
To find similar publications based on keywords and/or audience, click the links below:
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Audiences:General Audience, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Older Adults, Adults
Keywords:A1C, Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose, Cholesterol
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These four steps help people with diabetes understand, monitor, and manage their diabetes to help them stay healthy. This publication is excellent for people newly diagnosed with diabetes or who just want to learn more about controlling the disease.
Publication date: 11/01/2009
Contents
- Introduction
- Step 1: Learn about diabetes.
- Step 2: Know your diabetes ABCs.
- Step 3: Manage your diabetes.
- Step 4: Get routine care.
- My Diabetes Care Record
- Where to get help
This booklet presents four key steps to help you manage your diabetes and live a long and active life.
Diabetes is a serious disease. It affects almost every part of your body. That is why a health care team may help you take care of your diabetes:
- doctor
- dentist
- diabetes educator
- dietitian
- eye doctor
- foot doctor
- mental health counselor
- nurse
- nurse practitioner
- pharmacist
- social worker
- friends and family
You are the most important member of the team.
The 
marks in this booklet show actions you can take to manage your diabetes.
- Help your health care team make a diabetes care plan that will work for you.
- Learn to make wise choices for your diabetes care each day.
Step 1: Learn about diabetes.
Diabetes means that your blood glucose (blood sugar) is too high. There are two main types of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes – the body does not make insulin. Insulin helps the body use glucose from food for energy. People with type 1 need to take insulin every day.
Type 2 diabetes – the body does not make or use insulin well. People with type 2 often need to take pills or insulin. Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes.
Gestational (jes-TAY-shon-al) diabetes – occurs in some women when they become pregnant. It raises her future risk of developing diabetes, mostly type 2. It may raise her child’s risk of being overweight and developing type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes is serious.
You may have heard people say they have “a touch of diabetes” or that their “sugar is a little high.” These words suggest that diabetes is not a serious disease. That is not correct. Diabetes is serious, but you can learn to manage it!
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it!
All people with diabetes need to make healthy food choices, stay at a healthy weight, and move more every day.
Taking good care of yourself and your diabetes can help you feel better. It may help you avoid health problems caused by diabetes such as:
- heart attack and stroke
- eye problems that can lead to trouble seeing or going blind
- nerve damage that can cause your hands and feet to hurt, tingle, or feel numb. Some people may even lose a foot or a leg.
- kidney problems that can cause your kidneys to stop working
- gum disease and loss of teeth
When your blood glucose is close to normal you are likely to:
- have more energy.
- be less tired and thirsty and urinate less often.
- heal better and have fewer skin, or bladder infections.
- have fewer problems with your eyesight, feet, and gums.
- Ask your health care team what type of diabetes you have.
- Learn why diabetes is serious.
- Learn how caring for your diabetes helps you feel better today and in the future.
Step 2: Know your diabetes ABCs.
Talk to your health care team about how to manage your A1C, Blood pressure, and Cholesterol. This can help lower your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or other diabetes problems. Here’s what the ABCs of diabetes stand for:
A for the A1C test (A-one-C).
It shows what your blood glucose has been over the last three months. The A1C goal for many people is below 7. High blood glucose can harm your heart and blood vessels, kidneys, feet, and eyes.
B for Blood pressure.
The goal for most people with diabetes is below 130/80.
High blood pressure makes your heart work too hard. It can cause heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease.
C for Cholesterol (ko-LES-ter-ol).
The LDL goal for people with diabetes is below 100.
The HDL goal for men with diabetes is above 40.
The HDL goal for women with diabetes is about 50.
LDL or “bad” cholesterol can build up and clog your blood vessels. It can cause a heart attack or a stroke. HDL or “good” cholesterol helps remove cholesterol from your blood vessels.
- Ask your health care team:
- what your A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol numbers are
- what your A1C*, blood pressure, and cholesterol numbers should be
- what you can do to reach your targets
- Write down all your numbers on the record card at the back of this booklet.
*An A1C of less than 7 is the goal for many people but not for everyone. Talk to your health care team about what A1C target is right for you.
Step 3: Manage your diabetes.
Many people avoid the long-term problems of diabetes by taking good care of themselves. Work with your health care team to reach your ABC target. Use this self-care plan.
- Follow your diabetes meal plan.If you do not have one, ask your health care team to help you develop a meal plan.
- Eat healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, fish, lean meats, chicken or turkey without the skin, dry peas or beans, whole grains, and low-fat or skim milk and cheese.
- Keep fish and lean meat and poultry portions to about 3 ounces (or the size of a deck of cards). Bake, broil, or grill it.
- Eat foods that have less fat and salt.
- Eat foods with more fiber such as whole grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta.
- Get 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week. Brisk walking is a great way to move more.
- Stay at a healthy weight by using your meal plan and moving more.
- Ask for help if you feel down. A mental health counselor, support group, member of the clergy, friend, or family member who will listen to your concerns may help you feel better.
- Learn to cope with stress. Stress can raise your blood glucose. While it is hard to remove stress from your life, you can learn to handle it. NDEP’s Diabetes HealthSense provides online access to resources that support people with diabetes in making changes to live well. For more information visit www.YourDiabetesInfo.org/HealthSense.
- Stop smoking. Ask for help to quit. Call 1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669)
- Take medicines even when you feel good. Ask your doctor if you need aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke. Tell your doctor if you cannot afford your medicines or if you have any side effects.
- Check your feet every day for cuts, blisters, red spots, and swelling. Call your health care team right away about any sores that do not go away.
- Brush your teeth and floss every day to avoid problems with your mouth, teeth, or gums
- Check your blood glucose. You may want to test it one or more times a day. Use the card at the back of this booklet to keep a record of your blood glucose numbers. Be sure to show it to your health care team.
- Check your blood pressure if your doctor advises.
- Report any changes in your eyesight to your health care team.
- Talk with your health care team about your blood glucose targets. Ask how and when to test your blood glucose and how to use the results to manage your diabetes.
- Use this plan as a guide to your self-care.
- Discuss how your self-care plan is working for you each time you visit your health care team.
Step 4: Get routine care.
See your health care team at least twice a year to find and treat any problems early.
At each visit be sure you have a:
- blood pressure check
- foot check
- weight check
- review of your self-care plan shown in Step 3
Two times each year have an:
- A1C test – it may be checked more often if it is over 7
Once each year be sure you have a:
- cholesterol test
- triglyceride (try-GLISS-er-ide) test – a type of blood fat
- complete foot exam
- dental exam to check teeth and gums – tell your dentist you have diabetes
- dilated eye exam to check for eye problems
- flu shot
- urine and a blood test to check for kidney problems
At least once get a:
- pneumonia (nu-mo-nya) shot
- Ask your health care team about these and other tests you may need. Ask what yours results mean.
- Write down the date and time of your next visit.
- Use the card at the back of this booklet to keep a record of your diabetes care.
- If you have Medicare, ask your health care team if Medicare will cover some of the costs for
- learning about healthy eating and diabetes self-care
- special shoes, if you need them
- medical supplies
- diabetes medicines
My Diabetes Care Record
Record your targets and the date, time, and results of your tests. Take this card with you on your health care visits. Show it to your health care team to remind them of tests you need.
Self Checks of Blood Glucose
Record your targets and the date, time, and results of your checks. Take this card with you on your health care visits. Show it to your health care team.
Self Checks of Blood Glucose card
Where to get help:
Many of these groups offer items in English and Spanish.
National Diabetes Education Program
1-888-693-NDEP (1-888-693-6337)
www.YourDiabetesInfo.org
Diabetes HealthSense
An online library of resource for living well.
www.YourDiabetesInfo.org/HealthSense
National Kidney Disease Education Program
1-866-4-KIDNEY (1-866-454-3639)
www.nkdep.nih.gov
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse
1-800-860-8747
www.niddk.nih.gov
American Association of Diabetes Educators
1-800-TEAM-UP4 (1-800-832-6874)
www.diabeteseducator.org
American Diabetes Association
1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383)
www.diabetes.org
American Dietetic Association
1-800-366-1655
www.eatright.org
American Heart Association
1-800-AHA-USA1 (1-800-242-8721)
www.americanheart.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636)
www.cdc.gov/diabetes
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
www.medicare.gov/navigation/manage-your-health/preventive-services/diabetes-screening.aspx
Source:
Gestational Diabetes
Cathy Moulton, a Diabetes UK care adviser, explains how gestational diabetes affects pregnant women. Kimberly, who was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, talks about the symptoms she experienced and how she dealt with the condition. Find out about complications of gestational diabetes http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/gestational-diabetes/Pages/Complications.aspx
Source: NHSChoices on YouTube
Subcribe Here
