February 2009 Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource Highlights Diabetes and Heart Disease, Going Vegetarian an...( Diabetes and Heart Disease: Risk Inte...),Health

Diabetes and Heart Disease: Risk Intertwined

ROCHESTER, Minn., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Here are highlights from the February issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. You may cite this publication as often as you wish. Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource attribution is required. Reprinting is allowed for a fee. Include the following subscription information as your editorial policies permit: Visit www.bookstore.mayoclinic.com or call toll-free for subscription information, 800-876-8633, extension 9751.

What's the most common long-term complication of diabetes? Problems with the heart and blood vessels, according to the February issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

Cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke, account for 65 percent of all diabetes-related deaths. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have a heart attack than someone without the disease. For a middle-aged person with type 2 diabetes, the risk of a future heart attack is the same as that of someone who's already had a heart attack. Also attention getting: when people with diabetes have heart attacks, they are more serious and more likely to result in death than in adults without diabetes.

People with diabetes are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease because too much blood sugar (glucose) can lead to damage inside blood vessel walls. This damage makes it easier for fatty deposits (plaques) to form in arteries and cause narrowing or blockages that can lead to heart attacks or strokes.

Having diabetes doesn't mean heart disease is inevitable. Optimal control over the ABCs of diabetes, as suggested by the American Diabetes Association, can reduce heart disease risk. The ABCs are:

A1C: The best way to measure blood glucose levels over time i
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