Heart and Blood Vessel Problems
The blood vessels are the supply lines in your body. The
arteries carry oxygen from the lungs to the body. Small
capillaries transfer the oxygen to the cells and take waste out of
the cells. The veins then carry the blood back to the heart
and lungs to pick up more oxygen.
How does diabetes affect my heart and blood vessels?
People with diabetes are much more likely to get blockage of the arteries.
This happens when fat and cholesterol in the blood packs into the walls of the
blood vessels. This restricts flow of the blood. This can happen in
the arteries to the heart, brain, legs or rest of the body. This is often
called vascular disease.
What will happen when the blood vessels to the feet and legs are affected?
The feet and legs are one of the first parts of the body to be affected by
vascular disease. Less blood flows to the feet and legs. This means
that less oxygen and nutrients reach the feet too. You might see that cuts
or scrapes on the legs are slow to heal. These sores can sometimes get
infected and may be very serious. Sometimes it the blood vessels are
damaged enough the only treatment may be amputation.
One of the early warning signs of damage to the blood flow in the legs is a
pain or cramp feeling in the leg when you walk. Some people feel a
heaviness or tiredness in the legs. If you think you are having
circulation problems to the legs, tell your doctor and you may need a test to
check blood flow.
What happens when the blood vessels to my heart are affected?
If the blood flow to the heart is reduced you might have chest pain or
angina. If it is bad enough you can have a heart attack.
What happens when the blood vessels to my brain are affected?
If not enough blood gets to the brain you may feel dizzy or pass out.
If it is bad enough you may have a stroke.
This is a good time to remind you again - if you ever
think you might be having a heart attack or a stroke - call 911 and go to the ER.
If you think you might be having a heart attack, take a regular aspirin.
What causes heart and blood vessel disease?
Diabetes will greatly increase the risk for heart and blood vessel disease.
Some other factors that increase the risk are
- high blood pressure (hypertension)
- high cholesterol (blood fat, lipids or triglycerides)
- tobacco use
- family history of heart disease
- overweight
- low physical activity
What is high blood pressure?
A blood pressure reading has two numbers, and is often stated as 'first
number' 'over' 'second number' (or 120 over 70 or written as 120/70). The
first or top number is the systolic blood pressure which is the pressure against
the blood vessel wall when the heart pumps. The second or bottom number is
the diastolic blood pressure and is the pressure in the blood vessel when the
heart is relaxing between pumps.
Both numbers are important in deciding if you have high blood pressure.
For anyone with diabetes a blood pressure above 130/80 is too high.
What are blood fats or lipids?
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-type substance in your blood.
Your body will make some cholesterol from saturated fats and you get
some from foods. There are different kinds of blood fats:
- LDL, or Low Density Lipoprotein
cholesterol. LDL is the bad cholesterol and it is deposited
into the blood vessel walls and increases your risk of heart
disease.
- HDL, or High Density Lipoprotein
cholesterol. This will help clean out the fat from the blood
and will protect from heart disease.
- Triglycerides are another blood fat. They
are higher in people with diabetes and do increase the risk of
heart disease.
What can I do about blood vessel and heart disease?
If you keep your blood sugar in the normal range you will reduce
the progression of heart and blood vessel disease. You will
also need to control as many of the risk factors as you can.
If you have high cholesterol, changes in your diet, activity and
medications can help If you have high blood pressure, changes
in diet, activity and some other medication can help.
Exercise is a great way to keep your heart and blood vessels
strong. The heart is a muscle and exercise will strengthen it
just as it does your arms or legs. Physical activity will help
remove fat and sugar from the blood, lower your blood pressure and
help you deal with stress. Setting aside a time for exercise
is a wise investment.