Having diabetes can increase the chances of heart attacks and strokes. Hence, controlling your blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol levels are essential. Needless to say, preventive healthcare has to be an important and more frequent part of your lifestyle. The connection between diabetes and cardiovascular diseases
- High blood sugar/glucose levels: Diabetes can damage blood vessels and the nerves controlling them - sugar can leak out of the liver into the bloodstream and stay there. A blocked vessel can slow the blood from supplying oxygen to the heart thereby increasing the risk of heart diseases.
High cholesterol:
Fats in the blood such as cholesterol and triglycerides tend to increase the risk of heart disease. They result in the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels causing blockages that lead to a heart attack or stroke.
High blood pressure:
It is one of the most common causes of heart disease, especially for people with diabetes. Having both high blood pressure and diabetes can double the risk for cardiovascular health conditions.
Obesity:
Being overweight along with existing diabetes are high-risk factors for heart diseases. Excess body weight or obesity also influences blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol levels.
Preventive tips for lowering your risk of heart disease and stroke, and being healthy
- Keep your cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure at healthy levels.
- Quit smoking - both firsthand and secondhand smoke are harmful to your overall health. It adds to your cardiovascular disease risk.
- Keep a check on your diet. Consume foods that have high fiber, and avoid foods that have saturated fat, trans-fat, and too much salt. Choose fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy.
- Exercise - an active life is good for your health and also to control diabetes, body weight, and lower your risk for heart diseases.
- Watch and track your health status regularly with heart health checkups. Opt for a full body checkup that includes tests that check for your blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol levels, along with detailed heart health screenings.
Want to understand more about the essential heart health checkups? Click here.
Heart ailment like coronary heart disease is an underlying cause of heart attack, one of the leading causes of death.
It is caused when the arteries going to the heart become hardened.
Such heart related conditions along with their risk factors do not show any signs and often go undetected without regular health screenings.
Hence, it is important to be regular with your health checkups - they help in detecting abnormalities and problems with your heart health.
How does regular health checkups help in keeping your heart healthy?They aid in your heart health by:Understanding your body’s health Detecting cardiovascular conditions at an early stageReducing your likelihood of suffering because of heart conditionsGetting the correct treatment at the right time so that the condition can be curedHelping you to plan your lifestyle to improve your overall healthReducing your healthcare costs and out of pocket expenses important screening tests that are the basics of your health checkup package for understanding your overall cardiovascular healthBlood Pressure: High blood pressure cannot be detected without measuring it, and it increases your risk for heart diseases and stroke.
Weight or BMI: Being overweight or obese increases your risk for conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes.Blood Glucose Level: High levels of blood glucose levels also puts you at higher risk of developing insulin resistance.
