The accomplice of coronary heart disease – diabetes

  Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in western developed countries, and with the improvement of living standards and changes in dietary habits of our people, the disease has also become the leading cause of death in China. In addition to dyslipidemia and hypertension, diabetes is also a major accomplice of coronary heart disease, often “in cahoots” with coronary heart disease. The incidence of coronary heart disease in diabetic patients is as high as 45%-70%, and the mortality rate is also high. And, even if it is only abnormal glucose tolerance, the incidence of coronary heart disease increases by 1 times in men and 2-3 times in women compared to the normal population. Therefore, diabetes is an equivocal risk for coronary heart disease, and coronary heart disease is the first cause of death in diabetic patients.  So, why is it that diabetic patients are prone to complications of coronary heart disease?  First, because disorders of sugar metabolism cause disorders of lipid metabolism, so diabetic patients are often accompanied by dyslipidemia, which is the number one culprit of coronary heart disease. Second, abnormal blood changes in diabetes such as high blood glucose and high plasma osmolality can lead to coronary artery intima damage, providing favorable conditions for the formation of atheromatous plaque, and also cause platelet aggregation and adhesion capacity, which greatly increases the risk of acute coronary syndrome.  Third, diabetic patients are often combined with extensive vascular disease, coronary arteries are the most commonly involved arteries and atherosclerosis occurs.  Fourth, diabetic patients have a high incidence of hypertension.  Fifth, diabetic patients mostly have obesity.  Therefore, diabetic patients are at great risk of cardiovascular disease, and we need to treat diabetes as equivalent to coronary heart disease, and actively control blood glucose along with blood lipids and blood pressure.