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Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
What is diabetes? ¨ It is a disease that affects
the ability of your body to use the food you eat. ¨ Diabetes occurs when the body
cannot make insulin, or cannot make enough insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the
body cannot use the insulin it is making correctly. This is called insulin
resistance. ¨ Diabetes is a lifelong
disease. ¨ People who have diabetes can
live a long, healthy, and productive life by learning how to care for their
diabetes. More is being learned about diabetes and its treatment
everyday. Keeping up with the latest information is important. YOU are in charge! Your health care team
can assist you. Types of Diabetes
•
Type 1 (previously called insulin dependent, or
juvenile diabetes) effects about 10% of the diabetic population. People with
type 1 diabetes have to take insulin because their bodies make little or no insulin . Type 1 more commonly begins before age 20, but
can occur at any time. •
Type 2 (previously called non-insulin dependent or adult onset) effects about
90% of the diabetic population. It more commonly occurs in older persons, but
can occur at any time. Persons at higher risk are those persons who: •
are over 40 •
are overweight •
have high triglycerides •
have a family history •
had diabetes during pregnancy •
gave birth to a baby weighing over 9 pounds •
are Native American, Hispanic American, or African American When you eat, the
following should happen •
Foods that contain carbohydrate breaks down into a form of
sugar called glucose. This is the body’s main source of fuel. •
The sugar then enters the blood stream and the level of glucose in your body
begins to rise. •
The body sends a signal to the pancreas to make insulin. •
Insulin lowers the level of blood glucose by letting sugar leave the
bloodstream and enter the cells. •
The level of blood glucose in the bloodstream falls when the glucose goes
into the body cells. •
The body cells use the glucose for fuel and stores what we don’t use
right away as fat. The body can turn this fat back into simple sugar when we
have no food intake for over longer periods of time, when we are under
stress, periods of prolonged physical exertion, or when the body is not have
enough insulin available. What are the
warning signs? When there is a balance of insulin and blood glucose, we have
the energy for a full and active life. When there is not enough insulin
available to help the glucose enter the body’s cells, several things
happen: •
The blood glucose rises. •
The kidneys try to remove excess blood glucose, so you have to urinate more. •
You become thirsty. •
You feel tired, because the body can not use the
food you are eating to give you energy. •
You have increased hunger because your body is not able to use the food you
are eating. •
You may lose weight. •
You may have blurred vision because the high blood glucose causes the lens of
the eye to swell and distort the vision. •
You may have more infections because high blood glucose decreases your
body’s ability to fight infections. •
Your sexual drive may be less because of the decrease in you energy level. The pancreas
produces insulin. With diabetes, the body does not have enough insulin to use or
can’t use insulin properly. When the body does not have enough insulin
present, the body is not able to use the food you eat. The body then turns to
the fat that has been stored by the body for another source of energy. The liver stores
glucose and also helps the body turn free fatty acids back into glucose. The liver plays a major role in glucose storage and in helping the body
respond to stressful events by releasing stored glucose. The liver helps the
body process fat for a source of fuel when there is not enough insulin
available. When the body burns the fat, it forms waste products called ketones. Because ketones are
more acidic than healthy body tissues, high levels of ketones
may lead to a serious condition called ketoacidosis
and to diabetic coma. Diabetes Diagnosis
Diabetes
is diagnosed by testing the blood glucose. The following is a list of some of
the ways blood sugar is tested and the results that will confirm that you
have diabetes. •
Fasting (no food for at least 8 hours) blood glucose over 126 mg/dl on
two occasions •
Non-fasting blood glucose of 200 mg/dl or above along with symptoms of
diabetes •
An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) using 75 grams of anhydrous glucose
with a blood glucose reading is 200 mg/dl or more Pre-diabetes
(Impaired Glucose Tolerance) •
Fasting glucose of over 110 mg/dl but below 126 mg/dl Normal Glucose Values
•
Fasting glucose of 109 mg/dl and below Diabetes
Facts The results of large studies show that keeping blood glucose in
good control greatly reduces the risks of long term complications from
diabetes. The person with diabetes and their families must take an
active role in acquiring knowledge and obtaining treatment to manage their
diabetes. Despite advances in the science of treating diabetes, blood glucose
levels for many individuals are still above the goal range. ·
There are approximately 16 million persons with diabetes in the · Nearly 2.3 million
people in · Diabetes is the
leading cause of blindness, amputations, and kidney failure · People with diabetes
are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke. · Diabetes is the
leading cause of blindness in adults ages 25 to 74. · Diabetes is the most
common cause of amputations not caused by injury. · $1 out of every $7
spent on health care is spent on diabetes. In the Metabolic Syndrome
People with metabolic syndrome are at
increased risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as
increased mortality from cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome is
defined as having three or more of the following conditions: · Waist circumference
greater than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women · Serum triglyceride
level of 150mg/dL or higher · High-density
lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level less than 40mg/dL in men and 50mg/dL in
women · Blood pressure of
130/85 mm Hg or higher · Fasting glucose level
of 110 mg/dL or higher If you have diabetes, glycemic control alone only modestly lowers the rate of
heart disease. Exercise, diet, and appropriate medications to treat
blood pressure, high cholesterol, and blood glucose lowering drugs may all be
needed to lower the risks of coronary heart disease. Please check out the following websites
for more information about diabetes: The American Diabetes Association: http://www.diabetes.org/ The Combined Health Information
Database: http://chid.nih.gov/ The American Dietetic Association: http://www.eatright.org/ The American Association of Diabetes
Educators: http://www.aadenet.org/ The National Diabetes Education Program:
http://www.ndep.nih.gov |
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