Diabetes & Heart Disease: What is the Relationship?
If you have diabetes, your risk of developing cardiovascular disease is more than double that of the general population, according to the American Heart AssociationTrusted Source.
For people with type 2 diabetes, heart disease is the most common cause of death.
There are a number of things you can do to lower your risk of heart disease. Understanding the connection between diabetes and heart disease is the first step toward prevention.
Does diabetes cause heart disease?
Body tissues typically use sugar as an energy source. It’s stored in the liver as a form of glycogen.
If you have diabetes, sugar can stay in your bloodstream and leak out of the liver into your blood, with subsequent damage to your blood vessels and the nerves that control them.
A blocked coronary artery can slow or stop blood from supplying oxygen and nutrients to your heart. The risk of heart disease increases the longer you have diabetes.
Whenever possible, eat healthy, stay active, and do your best to manage your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.