Diabetes

As an endocrinologist, I see an ever-growing number of patients with diabetes and heart disease. Many of my patients with prediabetes or diabetes do not realize the negative effect that disease has on their hearts. There is now good evidence that heart disease actually begins just as glucose levels start to rise. Thus early treatment of even prediabetes makes a lot of sense.
The risk factors for heart disease can be rattled off by almost anyone who watches Grey’s Anatomy: high cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure, family history, and of course diabetes. However, the famous Framingham Heart Study suggests diabetes is playing an even greater role in the development of heart disease. Researchers from the Framingham study collected data on more than 9,500 individuals ages 45 to 64 during two different periods of time and compared risk factors for heart disease and cardiovascular events, including heart attacks. The initial study found that between 1952 and 1974, heart disease was complicated by type 2 diabetes in 5.2 percent of patients. However, that number jumped to 7.8 percent for individuals in the later group (between 1975 and 1998).
This study raises some important red flags. First, it points to the growing epidemic of diabetes in our country. As Americans become heavier, and more sedentary, the number of people with diabetes (with and without heart disease) continues to grow. About 65 percent of patients with diabetes will die from cardiovascular disease.