Diabetes and the ageing heart
Diabetes increases the damage done by some of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease – smoking, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol
Type one diabetes Your body cannot make insulin. This type usually affects children and young adults
Type two diabetes Your body can’t produce enough insulin or it doesn’t work properly. Type two diabetes is more common and tends to develop gradually as people get older – usually after the age of 40.
It’s closely linked with:
- being overweight
- being physically inactive,
- a family history of diabetes.
Almost two million adults have been diagnosed with diabetes in the UK, and this number is rising. And worryingly, type two diabetes is now being diagnosed in younger people. Some ethnic groups have a much higher rate of diabetes – particularly people of African Caribbean and South Asian origin. If you don’t have diabetes, you can greatly reduce your risk of developing it by controlling your weight and doing regular physical activity.
If you do have diabetes, it’s very important to make sure that you control your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. This will help to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. You can also:
- do more physical activity
- eat a healthy, balanced diet
- control your weight and body shape, and
- give up smoking.
If you are diagnosed with diabetes, you may also need to take medication such as statins (a cholesterol-lowering medicine) to help protect your heart
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