Heart Disease and Diabetes

Fast Facts about Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

An estimated 18.2 million Americans, or 6.3% of the population, have diabetes. While 13 million people have been diagnosed, 5.2 million are unaware that they have the disease.

Having diabetes dramatically raises one's risk of a cardiovascular event. A diagnosis of diabetes as an adult presents a similar risk as already having suffered a heart attack. Approximately 65% of deaths among people with diabetes are attributed to heart disease and stroke.

Among people with diabetes, cardiovascular complications occur at an earlier age and often result in premature death.

People with diabetes are two to four times as likely to suffer strokes as those who do not have diabetes. Once they have suffered a stroke, people with diabetes are two to four times as likely to experience another one.

Both men and women are at increased risk of the cardiovascular complications of diabetes.

Although death s from heart disease among American women without diabetes have fallen by 27% over the last 30 years, the death rate from heart disease among women with diabetes has increased by 23% over that same period.

While deaths from heart disease have decreased by 36% among American men without diabetes, the death rate has fallen by only 13% in men with diabetes.

Of course, understanding the connection between diabetes and cardiovascular disease is important, because you can lower the risk of getting heart attack or stroke by following a healthy lifestyle plan. It begins with keeping your diabetes in good control and being aware of your diet and exercise. It also means watching your blood cholesterol levels and lowering other risk factors. Everyone should have a healthy lifestyle plan, but it's especially important for people with diabetes.

The link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Most cardiovascular complications related to diabetes have to do with the way the blood circulates through the body. Diabetes can change the chemical makeup of the substances found in blood, causing blood vessels to narrow or clog up totally. This is called atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

Aspirin and Cardiovascular Event (Heart Attack) Prevention in people with diabetes

Heart Attacks can sometimes happen without warning. Over half of people who die suddenly from a heart attack have no previous symptoms. Talk to your doctor about your risk and whether aspirin is appropriate for you.

Taken regularly, Bayer Low Dose can reduce the risk of a heart attack by 30%.

In fact, the American Diabetes Association's Position Statement urges doctors to consider aspirin therapy as a Primary Prevention Strategy in high-risk men and women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. These are people with diabetes who also have one or more of the following:

A family history of cardiovascular disease
Cigarette smoking
High Blood Pressure
Albuminuria
High LDL (bad) Cholesterol and triglycerides,
low HDL (good) Cholesterol
Over age 40

Aspirin is not appropriate for everyone, so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin or modify an aspirin regimen. If you are taking a prescription product for diabetes, it is especially important to talk to your doctor because aspirin can interfere with certain diabetes medications.

What You Can Do to Lower Your Risk of CVD

If you have diabetes, you can take some basic steps to lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, starting with learning what the ADA calls the diabetes "ABCs":

A = A1C, or the hemoglobin A1ctest, which measures average blood glucose levels over the past three months
B = Blood Pressure
C = Cholesterol

Target ranges for the ABCs are as follows:

A = A1C less than 7%. This should be checked at least twice a year.
B = Blood pressure less than 130/80 mmHg. This should be checked every time you visit the doctor.
C = LDL Cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) less than 100 mg/dl. This should be checked at least once a year.

Educate yourself.

You can reduce your risk for complications by educating yourself about the disease; learning and practicing the skills you need to control your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels; and receiving regular health checkups.

Consider making lifestyle changes.

If you smoke, you should stop. If you're overweight, you should develop a moderate exercise regimen under the guidance of your healthcare provider to help you achieve a healthy weight. You should also watch what you eat, as a heart-healthy diet can help you lose weight.

Work with your healthcare team.

Because diabetes is a multi-system chronic disease, your care is best monitored and managed by a team of highly skilled health professionals - including your physician, nurse and diabetes educator -who are informed about the latest information on diabetes. Their knowledge and experience can help ensure early detection and appropriate treatment of the serious complications of the disease.

Discuss appropriate treatment options; implement and chart your progress.

Numerous studies have shown than men and women alike are under-treated for heart disease, and that women are treated even less aggressively than men. Ask your doctor or other members of your healthcare team if you should be taking aspirin, a beta-blocker and/or a cholesterol-lowering statin drug to reduce your risk of cardiovascular events.

Aspirin As Appropriate

Evidence from clinical trials involving more than 200,000 individuals demonstrates aspirin's effectiveness in reducing the risk of heart attack.

A meta-analysis of studies involving 55,000 patients has shown that when taken regularly, aspirin can reduce the risk of a first heart attack by 30%.

Based largely on the same data, guidelines issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the American Heart Association (AHA) suggest that aspirin therapy should be considered for all patients whose 10-year risk of a coronary event is 10% or greater.

Is Aspirin Right For You?

Bayer Aspirin for Prevention, Pain and Fever Relief

In addition to Low Dose 81mg and safety-coated 325mg for aspirin therapy, Bayer Aspirin is available in many forms for pain and fever relief - Regular Strength 325mg, Extra Strength, Bayer PM, and Children's 81mg chewables.

Bayer Aspirin is committed to educating people with diabetes about their risk for CVD and to raising awareness about the life-saving benefits of aspirin.

Remember.

Heart Disease is a risk for everyone, but having diabetes raises your risk. It also forces you to think more about your health.

You already make healthy choices to control your diabetes. Many of these choices can also help lower your risk of heart disease. Eating properly, staying active, and following your doctor's advice will go a long way toward keeping you healthy. Remember.the power to manage your diabetes is in your hands!