From clogged arteries to heart failure, type II diabetes can affect heart health in many ways. To protect yourself, you should be aware of the types of heart disease associated with diabetes and the warning signs to watch out for.
Coronary heart disease
This is the most common type of heart disease in people with diabetes. In people with coronary heart disease, a fatty, waxy substance called plaque forms in the arteries that carry blood to the heart muscle.
Over time, the plaque becomes hardened, hardening the arteries. As more and more plaque builds up, the space for blood to flow becomes smaller and smaller, and the heart will not get the oxygen it needs. The plaque mass can also break up, which makes it more likely to cause blood clots.
In a nutshell, this can lead to some of the following conditions.
- Angina. You may feel pain, pressure, or squeezing in your chest, even if the sensation radiates to your arms, back, or jaw. Sometimes it feels a lot like indigestion. Physical activity and strong emotional changes can trigger angina or make it worse.
- Arrhythmias. An arrhythmia is an abnormality in the frequency or rhythm of the heartbeat. It may feel like the heart is missing beats, fluttering, or beating too fast. Worse, it can lead to cardiac arrest, when the heart stops beating.
- Heart attack. A clot in an artery in the heart cuts off the flow of blood, which can lead to a heart attack. You may feel pain or discomfort in the center or left side of your chest. But this is not always the case. For people with diabetes, there is a higher chance of an asymptomatic heart attack, where you don’t even feel anything when it happens.
Heart failure
Despite the name, it does not mean that the heart stops working. It just means that the heart is weakened and cannot deliver enough blood to all parts of the body. Over time, diabetes, coronary heart disease and high blood pressure are more likely to cause heart failure. These diseases overload the heart for long periods of time, which damages the heart muscle.
When the body doesn’t get enough blood, cells don’t get enough oxygen, which can lead to symptoms such as
- Feeling tired and weak;
- Hard to exercise, with a fast heartbeat or abnormal rhythm;
- Inability to concentrate;
- Swelling in the legs, ankles and feet;
- Hard to breathe.
Cardiomyopathy
If you don’t keep your diabetes condition under strict control, you can develop cardiomyopathy. The heart muscles become thick and hard, and thus do not work properly, leading to abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure.
In the early stages, there may be no symptoms. But as the condition gets worse, it may lead to the following symptoms.
- Shortness of breath, even at rest;
- chest pain;
- Coughing, especially when lying down;
- Feeling dizzy or light-headed;
- Feeling weak and tired;
- Swelling in the legs, ankles, and feet.
Other diseases
Diabetes is also associated with:
- High blood pressure. This happens when blood pushes more forcefully than normal against the walls of blood vessels. High blood pressure makes the heart work harder than usual, which damages the blood vessels. Most people with type II diabetes also have high blood pressure. Together, the two increase the burden on the heart, increasing the chance of serious diseases such as heart disease and stroke.
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD). In this condition, plaque builds up in the arteries of the legs, usually leading to pain in the lower legs. The pain is usually felt when walking or climbing stairs and is not felt at rest. The legs may also feel heavy, numb or weak. Peripheral artery disease is also a warning sign. If there is plaque in the legs, then there is a chance that there will be plaque in the heart as well. In fact, peripheral artery disease increases the chances of stroke or heart disease.
- Stroke. Diabetes also means a greater risk of stroke, when part of the blood flow to the brain is cut off. The following symptoms may appear suddenly.
- Facial palsy, with crooked corners of the mouth;
- difficulty speaking, such as slurred speech;
- Weakness in the arms, difficulty lifting and keeping the arms in the air.
This is a life-threatening problem that requires immediate medical attention. The sooner you get treatment, the more likely you are to prevent long-term illness.