Diabetes and Heart Disease in Women
Introduction
Insulin is a hormone that helps the body metabolize/process sugars. Diabetes mellitus, commonly referred to as diabetes, is a long-term disease. It occurs when the body doesn’t produce insulin or doesn’t use the produced insulin properly. Hence, untreated diabetes can lead to heart disease.
Types of Diabetes
Type 1 and Type 2 are the two primary subtypes of diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes: In Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin. This type of diabetes is more prevalent in adults.
Symptoms can develop in weeks or months. The risk factors include:
- Family history: Where a person is at risk of type 1 diabetes if a parent or sibling has it.
- Age: A child, teen or young adult is usually at risk for type 1 diabetes. However, it can develop at any age and the symptoms can be severe.
Presently, type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented. Treatment includes taking insulin every day.
Type 2 Diabetes: In Type 2 diabetes, the body does not use the produced insulin properly. This is typically diagnosed in children and young people.
It takes year for symptoms of type 2 diabetes to develop. A person is usually an adult by the time they develop type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it is difficult to spot the symptoms, Hence, it is crucial to be aware of the risk factors. A person may be at risk for type 2 diabetes if they:
- Have prediabetes
- Are overweight.
- Are over 45 years old.
- Type 2 diabetes is in their family history.
- Are physically active for less than 3 days a week.
- Have had gestational diabetes or gave birth to a child weighing more than 4kgs.
Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by making healthy lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, eating healthy, and having physical activity.
Prediabetes: Prediabetes is the last stage after which a person develops type 2 diabetes. Consequently, symptoms of prediabetes are not easily detected. However, people diagnosed with prediabetes can easily reverse it by adopting a healthier lifestyle.
Diabetes in women
Listed below are several factors that increase the risk of diabetes in women.
- Family history
- Being overweight/obese
- Lack of exercise
- Age (being over 45 years)
- PCOS
- Metabolic syndrome
Women who have diabetes are more likely to experience blindness, kidney failure, and depression among other health issues. Additionally, diabetes affects large blood vessels (coronary arteries) and small blood vessels (arteries that carry blood to kidneys and nerve endings). Therefore, heart attacks and strokes are major consequences among diabetic patients.
Gestational diabetes mellitus, also known as gestational diabetes, occurs during pregnancy and usually goes away after the baby is born. But, having gestational diabetes poses a higher risk for type 2 diabetes in the future. There is also an added risk of complications throughout pregnancy and during delivery. Furthermore, the baby could be at risk for health problems, such as obesity and developing type 2 diabetes.
Normally, there are no symptoms of gestational diabetes. Therefore, it is advised for pregnant women between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy to get tested for it.
Heart Disease caused by diabetes in women
A number of factors can affect the cardiovascular system when it comes to diabetes.
- Diabetes attaches glucose to blood proteins and disrupts oxygen distribution.
- It leads to the clumping of cholesterol-carrying proteins like LDL (bad) cholesterol. Thus, this leads to a buildup of plaque in the walls of the vessels.
- It also produces fatty acids that can destroy blood vessel proteins.
- Diabetes is a significant contributor to atherosclerosis by causing inflammation in blood vessels.
Diabetes along with the following risk factors can also result in heart disease:
- Being overweight/obese
- No proper physical activity
- Consuming higher levels of saturated fats, trans fats, sodium, and cholesterol
- Smoking
- Consuming too much alcohol
Heart Diseases in Diabetic Women
Women with diabetes are at a higher risk for heart disease as compared to men. Moreover, they have worse outcomes after a heart attack.
Studies showed that the relative risk of incident coronary heart disease (also known as coronary artery disease) was 44% greater in diabetic women than in diabetic men. Furthermore, it was seen that women with type 1 diabetes were at a 2.5 times higher risk of incident coronary heart disease as compared to their male counterparts.
Recently, it was also found that the risk of a stroke was 27% more in women with all types of diabetes and 37% more in women with type 1 diabetes when compared to men.
Symptoms of diabetes that are related to the cardiovascular system are:
- Nerve damage
- Cardiac pain in the law, back or neck
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling of limbs due to fluid collecting in lungs
- Heart failure
To reduce the risks of heart disease, women must go to the doctor and go through the recommended tests. It is vital to get cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and weight checked on a regular basis. Doctors may also recommend getting:
- Electrocardiogram: To measure the electric activity in the heart.
- Echocardiogram: To examine the thickness of the heart muscle and how well the heart pumps.
- Treadmill Stress Test: To see how well the heart functions when it works fast.
Diagnosis
Testing blood sugar can help detect and diagnose diabetes early. Below are a number of tests that one can take to detect and diagnose diabetes. They include:
A1C test: It measures a person’s blood sugar levels over the past couple of months.
Diagnosis: A1C-
- equal to or below 5.7%- Normal
- between 5.7 and 6.4%- Prediabetic
- equal to or above 6.5%- Diabetic
Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) Test: It measures a person’s blood sugar after fasting overnight.
Diagnosis: FBS level of-
- 99mg/dL or lower- Normal
- 100 to 125mg/dL- Prediabetic
- FBS level of126mg/dL or higher- Diabetic
Glucose Tolerance Test: It measures a person's blood sugar two or three hours after drinking anything containing glucose. This test requires the person to fast overnight. This test can also be done to diagnose gestational diabetes.
Diagnosis: Blood sugar level of-
- 140mg/dL or lower- Normal
- 140 to 199mg/dL- Prediabetic
- 200mg/DL or higher- Diabetic
Random Blood Sugar Test: It measures a person’s blood sugar at that moment. No fasting is needed. his test can only diagnose diabetes, not prediabetes.
Diagnosis:
- Blood sugar level of 200mg/dL or higher- Diabetic
Glucose Screening Test: It measures a person’s blood sugar at that moment, and one hour after drinking a liquid containing glucose.
Diagnosis: Blood sugar-
- Equal to or below 140mg/dL- Normal
- Higher than 140mg/dL- The person needs to take Glucose Tolerance Test.
Treatment
The primary treatment for diabetes includes a healthy diet and physical exercise. It also requires lowering blood sugar and other aforementioned risk factors.
A part of the treatment includes controlling blood sugar with insulin (for type 1 diabetic patients) and oral medication (for type 2 diabetic patients). It is equally important for patients must maintain foot hygiene and must get their feet regularly examined by healthcare professionals. Additionally, other treatments include screening for retinopathy (blindness) and blood lipid control.
Prevention
There are no preventive measures for type 1 diabetes yet. However, type 2 diabetes can be prevented by making lifestyle changes, such as:
- Maintaining good weight.
- Being physically active.
- Avoiding smoking and alcohol consumption.
- Lowering consumption of cholesterol, saturated & trans fats, and sodium.
Overall, it is essential for diabetic women to take good care of their health and go for regular checkups to control their diabetes and prevent cardiovascular diseases.
- Side effects of radiation exposure if you have a history of X-rays and CT scans
- Exposure to radiation while pregnant can lead to birth defects
- Allergic reaction to the contrast dye used for the test
- Complications caused by conditions or medications that affect blood-thinning or clotting