The U.S Department of Health and Human Services informed that  people who get diabetes also run the risk of heart diseases and stroke at least twofold increase. Diabetes is a disorder of our body on the way of using glucose for production energy. Normally, most of food is broke down into sugar form – glucose. Glucose enters the bloodstream and used as source of fuel for cells. This process is controlled by insulin – a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Diabetes develops when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or our body can not use its own insulin as well as it should.

How does diabetes affect on cardiovascular system?

In diabetes patients, glucose can not enter into the cells. This causes excess the amount of glucose in blood while the cells are deprived of fuel. High blood glucose levels lead the fatty acids deposit, induce platelet activation. These reasons make diabetes people get the  risk of atherosclerosis and blockage in blood vessels higher than other groups.

The serious side effects of diabetes on cardiovascular system are stroke and ischemic heart disease. The stroke appears when the blood vessel in brain or neck is blocked or bursts. The brain cells are die because of oxygen deficiency. The stroke causes weakness or having problem with speech or paralysis or death. These results depend on the part of brain which is affected. When blood vessels which go to your heart are narrowed or blocked or bursts, the heart cells lack of oxygen, nutrition and that cause ischemic heart disease. Furthermore, diabetes patients often some cardiovascular conditions such as heart failure, peripheral arterial disease, transient ischemic attacks.

How to prevent diabetes effects on the cardiovascular system?

• Choose healthy foods for your diet such as cereals, fruits, vegetables. Avoid saturated fat sources (meats, poultry skin, butter, lard, palm oil, coconut oil) and foods contain trans fat (crackers, cookies, snack foods, cake mixes, microwave popcorn, fried foods, salad dressings).
• Do exercises everyday, try to increase physical activities as more as you can
• Reach and maintain BMI below 25 and the waist circumference below 35 inches (women) and 40 inches (men)
• Quit smoking
• Meet your doctor if having transient ischemic attacks symptom such as sudden weakness, loss of balance, numbness, confusion, blindness in one or both eyes, double vision, difficulty speaking or severe headache

Reference

U.S Department of Health and Human Services: Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Stroke, Dec 2005

Livestrong.com: How does diabetes affect the heart, Oct 2009