Managing Your Cardio Risk
Is focusing on controlling blood sugar levels enough? That's the question Gina Kolata of The New York Times asked yesterday in a feature story about heart disease risk in the diabetes population - and how high cholesterol and blood pressure remains seriously undertreated. It's also apparently misunderstood. In a recent ADA survey, only 18 percent of people with diabetes acknowledged that the disease put them at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
The big takeaway is that while keeping blood glucose levels under control is important, and may decrease damage to small blood vessels, cholesterol reduction and blood pressure control are key to preventing cardiovascular disease. This may mean adding drugs, like statins, to an already complicated diabetes regimen, but in terms of preventing long-term heart problems, it's worth it.
Read The New York Times article.
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