Diabetes: Here's How Smoking Is Affecting Your Heart Health

We are all aware of the detrimental effects of smoking on our health, but diabetes and smoking are a lethal combination. It has been related to a variety of malignancies and cardiovascular conditions. Smoking has a harmful impact on every organ in the body. The majority of these ailments are deadly.

For those who have diabetes, smoking's negative consequences increase exponentially. Regular smoking raises the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, according to research. Even though diabetes is already a serious condition, smoking makes matters much worse because it adds further complications. Below we discuss ways in which smoking can affect heart health for diabetics.

7 Ways in which smoking affects heart health for diabetics:

1. Spikes blood sugar

Smoking raises blood sugar levels. Smokers with diabetes struggle more to maintain blood sugar control. Additionally, they struggle harder to find the ideal drug regimen to manage their blood sugar. The most crucial thing you can do to be healthy if you have diabetes is to maintain normal blood sugar levels.

2. Causes an increase in blood pressure

According to studies, those with diabetes and smokers are substantially more likely to experience inflammatory blood vessel damage. When blood vessels are injured, they become rigid. High blood pressure is brought on by this rigidity. If you have high blood pressure, you'll need to take additional medicine and make dietary changes in order to stay healthy.

3. Affects blood vessels

Smokers with diabetes are twice as likely to get cardiovascular issues, and depending on their smoking patterns, they may even be four times more probable. The blood arteries throughout the body narrow when someone smokes. As a result, there is less blood flowing to the brain and heart, which increases the risk of stroke and heart attacks.

4. Increased risk of chronic heart disease

As discussed smoking can aggravate blood sugar levels and raise blood pressure. Heart disease can be caused by either of these causes. Heart attacks, heart failure, and angina are among the conditions categorised as heart disease.

5. Hinders blood circulation

Blood vessels with damage are not merely stiff. In time, they also leave scars. This results in poor circulation and makes it more difficult for blood to circulate through them. Your risk of developing infections and ulcers increases if your legs and feet have poor circulation. Diabetes-related amputations are most commonly caused by poor circulation and infections.

6. Affect cholesterol levels

Smoking can raise your risk of high cholesterol and coronary heart disease. Smoking reduces HDL (the good cholesterol) and raises LDL (the bad cholesterol). Over time, having high cholesterol raises your risk of developing heart disease.

7. Causes insulin resistance

You have insulin resistance when your body doesn't respond to insulin as it should. Injurious tobacco compounds lead to insulin resistance. Your risk of developing insulin resistance increases the more you smoke. Your body is already processing the excess blood sugar due to smoking. Hence, it is unable to control blood sugar with its best tool, insulin.

There are numerous things people with diabetes can do to lessen the hazards related to smoking. Your health, as well as how you feel and appear, will all improve once you stop smoking.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.