MEDICINE
Cardiovascular system is one of
the most important systems in the human body. It is comprised of the
heart, blood and blood vessels.
Blood is being pumped out from the
heart and is the one responsible in delivering oxygen and other
nutrients to all the parts of the body. It also cleans up our body by picking up
the waste products on its way back to the heart so our body can get rid
of them.
So what has diabetes got to do with
the cardiovascular system? Since blood is part of the
cardiovascular system, and diabetes is a condition in which the level of glucose in the
blood is higher than normal, then there must be some relationship between
the two.
Diabetes and cardiovascular system
diseases has been recognized to be closely related to each other for
some time now due to the so-called insulin resistance syndrome or
metabolic syndrome. Among the 20 million people in the United
States who has diabetes, around 5 to 6 million of this population who are
aged 35 years and above were diagnosed to have a certain
cardiovascular disease according to the
National Diabetes Surveillance
System. Some examples of the
commonly diagnosed cardiovascular
disease are coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and
other heart conditions.
Cardiovascular diseases are the
major cause now of deaths related to diabetes. In a study published few
years back in the Journal of the American Medical Association,
deaths due to some heart conditions went up by 23% in diabetic women
despite the 27% drop of the same in non diabetic women.
As for diabetic men, there is only
about 13% decrease in heart disease related deaths as compared to the 36% drop
in non diabetics.
Thus, the two indeed go together.
Risk Factors
Diabetes is now considered by the
American Heart Association a major risk factor in cardiovascular
diseases. Other factors that contribute to the possibility of acquiring
cardiovascular diseases in diabetic patients include hypertension, smoking, and
dyslipidemia.
- Hypertension. Hypertension in
diabetes is considered a major contributor to the increase in
mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Diabetic patients, especially
those with Type 2, need to always have their blood pressure checked every
visit to the doctor. Self-monitoring
at home is also a must to maintain
and control the rise of blood pressure. The American Diabetes
Association recommends a target blood pressure of not more than
130/85 mm Hg to maintain a good level of blood pressure.
- Hyperglycemia. Intensive
glycemic control may prove to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events,
although not directly. This can be more beneficial in controlling micro
vascular complications, but still, assessing all risk factors and properly
managing them is a big step in preventing
- Smoking. Smoking has been
determined dangerous to our health.
Studies show that smoking indeed
increase risk of premature death and cardiovascular disease in diabetic
patients.
Prevention
As the old saying goes,
“prevention is better than cure.” There are many ways on how to prevent the
increased possibility of cardiovascular events in diabetic patients.
Several alterations or modifications to the risk factors can be done to still
maintain healthy despite of diabetes.
The simplest step one can start
with is to stop smoking. Diabetic or not, cessation of smoking will really
prove beneficial to one’s overall health condition. Maintaining blood
pressure to less than 130/85 or 130/80 mm
Hg helps control the occurrence of
hypertension. Having a body mass index (BMI) of less than 27 is
also a must for diabetic patients to control their overall condition.
Some tests are also recommended to
monitor and keep maintain key factors at a healthy level. These
tests include annual urine test, retinal dilation examination, dental
examinations, and biannual foot examination for sensation testing
and measurement of pulses. Influenza and pnuemococcal immunizations
also help in proper maintenance.
Diabetes and cardiovascular
diseases need proper attention and care.
Regular visits to your health
practitioner are recommended as they are the right people who know all
about your condition. They keep all the records of their patients’ health
history and can track improvements or otherwise. Proper medications and
advice are also given by these professionals.
Diabetes is indeed a life-long
condition that demands a lot of attention. There may be no hard and real cure
for this disease, but it sure can be maintained and controlled by
proper care and having thorough knowledge and understanding about
the condition.
All
about the Pancreas and Diabetes
Diabetes now ranks among the top
10 causes of death in most
developed and industrialized
societies. Latest estimates project that nearly 180 million people are
afflicted. Fifteen years ago, there were around 30 million cases of
diabetes worldwide. Ten years after, the number increased to 135 million.
At this rate twenty years from now, there will be around 300 million
people with diabetes. As such, health
experts and officials have deemed
diabetes a global epidemic.
But what is diabetes and how does
it affect the body?
Diabetes is a disease that stems
from the lack of insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by the body to
process glucose. Glucose is a form of sugar that the cells of the body
need for energy. But before a cell can use glucose, insulin is needed to
process the sugar into a form the cell can absorb.
Without insulin, the cells do not have the energy needed to run the body properly, making a person weak.
Furthermore, since the glucose is not used up it stays in the blood,
which is harmful to the body, particularly to the kidneys.
Without proper treatment, the
complications arising from diabetes are many and severe. Some of these
include eyesight loss (retinopathy), nerve damage, kidney failure, and
in very severe cases, diabetic ketoacidosis (diabetic coma).
There are two types of diabetes,
differing in cause of contracting the disease, but nevertheless both are
equally serious. Type I diabetes is caused by the body’s immune system
mistakenly attacking the cells responsible for the production of
insulin. As these cells are destroyed, insulin production is halted as
well.
Type II diabetes is primarily
caused by the body’s inability to process glucose even if insulin is present
in the body. This is mainly because there is too much sugar in the
body and not enough insulin is produced to process the excess sugar. As
such, the blood sugar levels rise while putting extreme stress on the
pancreas.
The pancreas is a gland that lies
crosswise and behind the stomach. It is where insulin is produced and
released into the body. Cells called islets of Langerhans are the primary
makers of insulin, and these are what the immune system attacks in a Type I
diabetes case.
In the case of Type II diabetes,
the pancreas is forced to produce so much insulin to cope with the high
levels of sugar in the body.
Unfortunately, if high sugar
levels are maintained for long periods of time, the undue stress may cause
the pancreas to break down.
Most Type I diabetic patients
manage the disease by having insulin artificially administered. The
most common methods are pills and hypodermic needle syringes. Other
delivery methods are being developed as well, such as an oral
spray that delivers the patient’s required amount of insulin.
Those with Type II diabetes may
not need artificial insulin
administration. A different
medication can be coupled with a controlled diet and exercise. As there is a
proven correlation between Type II diabetes and obesity, doctors and
health experts recommend obese individuals to undergo a
regimented weight loss and management program to combat the disease.
However, in advanced cases of Type II diabetes, artificial insulin
administration could be prescribed.
For Type I diabetes, no real cure
exists, except for a pancreatic transplant. Since the patient’s
own pancreas has been compromised by the diseases, new pancreas is
needed to restore the body’s own ability to produce insulin.
There already have been reported
and successful cases of pancreatic transplants, but the risks and
stakes are very high. The chances are great that the body’s immune
system may reject the new part leading to very serious and fatal
complications.
Furthermore, research shows that a
good number of those successful pancreatic transplants involved
having undergone a kidney transplant as well. The mortality rate of
patients who’ve undergone just the transplant of the pancreas is greater
compared to cases of patients who’d undergone pancreas and kidney
transplants.
Prevention of diabetes is highly
possible, and extremely easy if you already are observing proper
dietary and exercise habits.
If, however, you find yourself
leading a lifestyle with little physical activity while consuming food high
in sugar, you should take stock of your current lifestyle and
seriously consider changing. Consult with a doctor to help you assess your
current state as far as diabetes is concerned. The sooner these are
done, the better. As you become kinder to your body, it will
respond accordingly.
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