Why diabetes promotes heart attacksDiabetes affects the heart. What makes high blood sugar levels so risky for the cardiovascular system.
Permanently high blood glucose levels are not only a symptom of diabetes mellitus, but also a real danger for the heart. When your blood sugar levels are too high. Your risk of a heart attack increases.
What is diabetes mellitus?
Diabetes mellitus, colloquially known as diabetes, is a metabolic disorder. Hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) occurs. The blood glucose values are clearly above the norm: fasting at over 100 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter) and after the intake of sugar at 140 mg/dl or even 200 mg/dl. There can be various reasons for the development of diabetes mellitus:
– Insulin deficiency: the pancreas no longer produces enough insulin. The metabolic hormone insulin acts like a key to the body's cells. It "unlocks" them so that sugar can be absorbed into the cells. Insulin resistance: The body's cells become less sensitive to insulin. Respond increasingly poorly to the "key" insulin.
As a result, more sugar accumulates in the blood and blood glucose levels rise. The body then tries to excrete the sugar through the kidneys. Two common diabetes symptoms are therefore increased thirst and frequent urination. As the sugar content in the urine increases, diabetes mellitus is also known as "honey-sweet flow".
The difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes
There are different types of diabetes. Most common are diabetes mellitus type 1 and diabetes mellitus type 2. Type 1 diabetes is the most common metabolic disease in childhood and adolescence. The cause of the disease is an immune disorder . The body produces antibodies that attack and destroy the cells of the pancreas. This leads to a lack of insulin production. To a deficiency of the hormone insulin. In most cases, type 1 diabetes mellitus breaks out before the age of 20. From the age of. In type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, the body's own insulin can no longer work properly due to resistance in the body. Diabetes mellitus type 2 develops gradually. With the increase in years of life. Over 90 percent of people with diabetes suffer from this insulin ineffectiveness disorder . The most significant risk factors for diabetes mellitus type 2 include:
– Overweight (especially fatty tie in the abdomen: visceral fat) – Lack of exercise – Unhealthy diet – High blood prere – Smoking
Diabetes as a risk factor: Heart at risk?
Diabetes has far-reaching consequences for health. Diabetes patients have a greatly increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, especially heart attacks, strokes and arterial occlusive disease (window-shopping disease). But why does diabetes favor the development of a heart attack?? High blood sugar levels promote inflammatory reactions in the body. Affects various metabolic processes. Among other things, chronically high blood sugar accelerates the calcification and damage of vessels (arteriosclerosis) and leads to a deterioration in the pumping capacity of the heart as well as to increased blood clotting in the damaged vessels.
Even slightly elevated blood glucose levels are risky
Not only confirmed diabetes with high blood glucose levels is risky. Even slightly elevated values before diabetes is diagnosed are a risk factor . Regular blood tests at the doctor's office help to assess the personal risk of diabetes. The German Heart Foundation e.V. recommends taking advantage of the official health check-up, which is offered from the age of 35. The health insurance companies pay for a checkup every three years before the patient reaches the age of three. The check is carried out by general practitioners, general practitioners and internists .
Diabetes and high blood prere often a pair
If your doctor diagnoses you with diabetes or if you have been suffering from this metabolic disorder for a long time, it is important that your diabetes therapy is adjusted so that your blood glucose levels are within the normal range. However, the administration of blood glucose-lowering drugs alone is often not sufficient as part of diabetes treatment. High blood glucose levels often go hand in hand with high blood prere, elevated blood lipid levels, and obesity. Physicians group these metabolic disorders under the term "Metabolic syndrome" together.
Patients with diabetes are about twice as likely to suffer from high blood prere (arterial hypertension) as people without diabetes. Then antihypertensive agents supplement the treatment. If blood lipid levels are too high, cholesterol-lowering drugs ( e.g.B. statins) are taken. Drug treatment should always be accompanied by a healthy lifestyle. A healthy diet , sufficient exercise , avoidance of excess weight , abstaining from smoking and alcohol , and stress reduction help to improve blood levels and support diabetes therapy.