What is Diabetes Hearth Disease (Cardiopathy)?
Coronary artery disease is characterized by hardening of the heart's arteries. Coronary artery disease is a type of heart disease that occurs when the coronary arteries become narrowed and clogged, restricting the flow of blood to the heart. People with coronary artery disease are likely to develop fatigue because their weakened heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood and oxygen to support regular body functions.
What is Atherosclerosis?
It is commonly referred to as a "hardening" or "furring" of the arteries. It is caused by the formation of multiple plaques within the arteries. Atherosclerosis (ath"er-o-skleh-RO'sis) comes from the Greek words athero (meaning gruel or paste) and sclerosis (hardness). It's the name of the process in which deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery. This buildup is called plaque. It usually affects large and medium-sized arteries. Some hardening of arteries often occurs when people grow older. People with diabetes tend to get atherosclerosis at younger ages than other people do.
Plaques can grow large enough to significantly reduce the blood's flow through an artery. But most of the damage occurs when they become fragile and rupture. Plaques that rupture cause blood clots to form, which can block blood flow or break off and travel to another part of the body. If either happens and blocks a blood vessel that feeds the heart, it causes a heart attack. If it blocks a blood vessel that feeds the brain, it causes a stroke. And if blood supply to the arms or legs is reduced, it can cause difficulty walking and eventually lead to gangrene.
As the blood vessels narrow, the skin will go through changes. The skin will lose its hair; it will get thinner, and shiny. The toes become cold. Toenails thicken and discolor. Exercise causes pain in the calf muscles because the muscles are not getting enough oxygen.
Because blood carries the infection-fighting white cells, affected legs heal slowly when the skin is injured. Even minor scrapes can result in open sores that heal slowly.
What is a Stroke?
The most common cause of a stroke is the blockage of an artery in the brain or neck by a clot (plaque or blood). A clot forms in a small blood vessel within the brain that has been previously narrowed due to a variety of risk factors including: high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking. The stroke occurs when blood flow is interrupted to a location within the brain. The brain cells quickly begin to die without oxygen rich blood, nutrients and the ability of the body to remove waste products. Depending on the region of the brain affected, a stroke may cause paralysis, speech impairment, loss of memory and reasoning ability, coma, or death.
The research has shown that individuals who develop type 2 diabetes have a 2-fold increased stroke risk within the first 5 years of diagnosis compared with the general population.
Previous research examining the association between diabetes and stroke risk has typically looked at long-term cardiovascular outcomes usually after 10 years or more where it has been shown associated with a 2- to 3-fold increased risk. However, this study is the first to investigate the short-term risk.
"These results show stroke risk is high, even very early in the course of diabetes. This study strongly supports aggressive management of cardiovascular risk factors immediately after diagnosis," principal investigator Thomas Jeerakathil, MD, MSc,. The study is published in the June 1, 2007, issue of Stroke.
Individuals diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are at double the risk of having a stroke compared to those without diabetes, according to new research from the University of Alberta. It was found that the risk of a stroke is considered high within the first five years of treatment for Type 2 diabetes and more than doubles the rate of occurrence.