Women beware: Diabetes can give you a heart attack

A woman’s risk of coronary heart disease goes up considerably if she also has diabetes. And the sad fact is that her risk is much higher than a man in the same position.

By: Jahnavi Sarma | | Updated: November 28, 2019 5:14 pm

Diabetes can be easily managed with dietary and lifestyle changes. But even if your blood sugar levels are within the normal range, you may still be at a greater risk of heart diseases. This may be due to the fact that most diabetics also suffer from hypertension and high cholesterol levels. Besides, obesity, a known risk factor of diabetes, also increases your risk of heart diseases. But you can counter this risk with regular exercise and a healthy diet. This can help you prevent or delay the onset of coronary complications. According to the Cleveland Clinic, ‘people with diabetes are up to four times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease as compared to non-diabetic people’. Also Read - Diabetes: Beneficial gut bacteria can play a key role in treating the condition

The American Heart Association says that diabetic people under 40 years of age have a higher risk of succumbing to cardiovascular diseases than their non-diabetic counterparts. Women, in particular, are at a higher risk if their diabetes was detected when they were younger. The American Heart Association’s journal Circulation published this study. A surprising find of this study was that the excess risk for death, regardless of cause, for people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at age 80 or older significantly decreased. It was the same as those of similar age without diabetes. Hence, researchers say that the ‘differences in excess diabetes risk are tied to how old the person is when they are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes’. Also Read - Diabetes: Epigenetic changes precede onset of the disease

Diabetic women have a higher risk of heart diseases

Women with diabetes have a 31 per cent higher risk of heart disease or stroke. Researchers from the Center for Women’s Health Research at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora say that women with diabetes die more often after their first heart attack. In fact, compared to their male counterparts, ‘women with diabetes have a twofold increased risk of heart disease. They are also more likely to have heart attacks earlier – and ones that are fatal’. Also Read - Diabetes: Not just sugar, stay away from these foods to keep diabetes at bay

A study published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, says that ‘women had overall lower rates of control than men for risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, including blood sugar levels, blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking status’.

Another study at the Regional Health Agency, Florence, Italy, says that diabetic women are more at risk than diabetic men of having a heart attack and other complications as they age. Researchers say that women have a 2.63 times increased risk as compared to 1.96 times for men. This gives a relative increased risk of 34 per cent in women. Researchers say that ‘women with diabetes are more disadvantaged, compared to diabetic men, with a gender driven ‘risk window’ for women which mostly opens around menopausal age (45 years onwards)’. This was published in Diabetologia.

Risk factors in women with diabetes

As mentioned above, diabetic women are at a higher risk of heart diseases than diabetic men. One reason for this may be menopause, when the production of oestrogen hormone slows down. This hormone offers protection against heart disorders. Other reasons may be poor glycaemic control, eating disorders, use of hormonal contraception and depression. Women are also more prone to abdominal obesity and this is more evident in diabetic women. This increases their risk of hypertension or high blood pressure, sugar level fluctuations and high cholesterol as compared to diabetic men.

Symptoms of heart problems in women with diabetes

Heart disease symptoms may manifest differently in men and women. While men may experience pain in the chest, pain in left arm and excessive sweating, women often complain of nausea, fatigue and jaw pain. This difference in symptoms often lead to wrong diagnosis.

If you are a woman, be alert for these symptoms and get medical help even if you think it is unnecessary. It can make a difference between life and death.

Treatment of heart problems in women with diabetes

Very often, a woman may not even be aware that she has a heart condition that needs immediate medical attention. Therefore, unfortunately, silent myocardial infarctions, heart-related complications that happen without any symptoms, are very frequent in women with diabetes.

Misdiagnosis is a very common problem. Both the patient and her health care provider need to be alert for symptoms. As far as treatment is concerned, a woman’s coronary arteries are much smaller than a man’s. This makes surgery more complicated. Post-surgery complications are also more common in women than men.

Your doctor will first try to bring down your LDL cholesterol levels with medication. He may prescribe statins, which can significantly bring down your risk of heart disease, stroke and overall mortality. He may also advice you to take Metformin, often used as a first line therapy for type 2 diabetes. This medication is known to reduce cardiovascular mortality.

What you can do

Most of the risk factors of diabetes have a link with heart disease. High blood cholesterol, including higher LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and lower HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to heart diseases too. Hence, try to get all this in order. It will regularise your blood sugar levels and also help you to bring down your risk of heart disease.

Kidney damage is a complication of diabetes. Unfortunately, kidney disease also increases your risk of heart disease independent of other risk factors. So, try to maintain a healthy kidney. You can do this by keeping away from alcohol, following a nutritious diet, drinking lots of water and following a regular exercise regime. Avoid all kinds of stress and follow some daily relaxation technique. And, go for screening at regular intervals. Even if symptoms are absent, your doctor will be able to catch any abnormalities in your heart if you do so.

Published : November 28, 2019 5:09 pm | Updated:November 28, 2019 5:14 pm