Around 70 percent of diabetics are also suffering from cardiovascular diseases, as per various recent studies. This is mainly because people with diabetes are unable to identify the symptoms of heart-related diseases, owing to their ongoing treatment of diabetes. This may lead to delayed diagnosis and people might reach the doctor at an advanced stage of heart problem. But as per the recent study, published in the current issue of Diabetes Care, a diagnosis of prediabetes may warn people to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including dietary changes and regular exercise, to prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease. According to the researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine, detecting prediabetes should be like a wake-up call for people to make healthy choices in life, especially when it comes to health, both mental as well as physical.
According to the lead author of the study, Michael P. Bancks said, "We know that having diabetes increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, so in our study we wanted to determine what the absolute risk or probability of developing heart disease was for people who were only at a pre-diabetic level of blood sugar."
Prediabetes is a condition marked by a fasting blood sugar level between 100 and 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L), while a fasting blood sugar level of less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) is considered normal. A level of 126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L) and higher is the diagnostic threshold for diabetes, Bancks said.
Researchers analysed the data that was collected from seven different studies, which included both men and women who were followed from six decades (1960 to 2015). It was found that the risk for CVD ranged from 15 percent (non-diabetic) to 38 percent (diabetic) among women and from 21 percent (non-diabetic) to 47 percent (diabetic) among men. Rise in glucose levels to the diabetic level were associated with higher risk of heart-related problems as compared to the glucose levels that stayed below the diabetes threshold.
Bancks added, "Although we found that individuals who had pre-diabetic levels of blood glucose did not have a higher absolute risk for cardiovascular disease, we know that most people go on to develop diabetes unless they take measures to reduce their blood sugar levels."
Bancks further added that the study provided evidence that if one can avoid diabetes; one may be able to stave off cardiovascular disease. The researcher went on to add, "Pre-diabetes should serve as a red flag to doctors to closely monitor their patient's blood sugar to try to prevent diabetes through lifestyle interventions like better diet and increased physical activity, and if necessary, with pharmacologic therapies."
Include These Foods In Your Diet To Manage Diabetes:
Beetroot
Tomatoes
Pumpkin Seeds
Flaxseeds
Whole Grains