Why Are Diabetes Patients at Risk for Heart Failure?

Medical Video: Diabetes and Heart Disease

It is estimated, later in 2030, the total number of people with diabetes mellitus in the world will reach 360 million. Of the total cases of diabetes mellitus, it is known that 5% to 10% are type 1 diabetes mellitus, whereas 90% to 95% are type 2 diabetes. If someone has diabetes mellitus, he or she will not be able to return to normal or recover from diabetes so that what can be done is to keep sugar levels normal and prevent various complications that can occur. What also needs to be known, diabetes mellitus is the main cause that causes a person to experience heart failure.

What type of diabetics are most at risk for heart failure?

A study conducted by the Framingham Heart Study, found that heart failure occurs twice as high in men with diabetes mellitus, and five times higher in women with diabetes mellitus. The risk of heart failure increases with increasing age and duration of diabetes. Although it is not yet clear how the relationship between diabetes mellitus can cause heart failure, there are several hypotheses that can explain the relationship between the two diseases.

There are several mechanisms that explain the relationship between diabetes mellitus and heart failure. The mechanism can be a direct mechanism (for example, hyperglycemia causes heart failure), and an indirect mechanism that arises due to some complications of diabetes mellitus.

Complications of diabetes that trigger the risk of heart failure

1. Oxidative stress

Oxidative stress is a condition where the body's cell food needs are not met, then hunger arises. Hyperglycemic conditions or high blood sugar levels that occur in patients can cause body cells to starve. When the body experiences insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes) or not enough insulin (type 1 diabetes), the sugar that enters the body cannot be processed into insulin-insulated deposits. If this continues, it will result in chronic hyperglycemia. The sugar needed by cells to be used as fuel cannot be channeled, so that the cells experience starvation, which will lead to cell damage and cell death.

When cells die, the body tissues that make up various organs will be disrupted, including the heart. When there is a part of the heart tissue that is damaged and cannot function properly, the other heart tissue will work harder to maintain its function. This will cause fatigue in the heart and if it continues to occur, the heart will stop to perform its function and heart failure will occur.

2. Atherosclerosis

Insulin has various effects on body tissues. The impact can be caused by various factors, including obesity and fat accumulation in the abdomen or abdomen. When type 2 diabetes occurs, the body becomes insensitive to the hormone insulin which is produced and results in insulin resistance. Repeated insulin resistance can cause inflammation in body tissues. The more sugar that enters, the body becomes more resistant to insulin, then causes inflammation that gets worse. In fact, inflammation is what triggers heart failure in diabetics. Inflammatory cells will fill the blood vessels, which will increasingly cover the blood vessels and end at atherosclerosis which can increase the risk of heart failure.

3. Hypertriglycerides

In diabetics, the blood vessels not only contain high sugar levels, but also tend to have high triglyceride levels. Hypertriglycerides that occur in diabetics occur because insulin also has a role to regulate fat levels in the body. When the body is resistant to insulin, insulin function is disrupted and makes blood fat levels uncontrolled.

Hypertriglycerides can cause bad cholesterol in the body to increase and good cholesterol decreases. If this condition persists, atherosclerosis or fat buildup will occur in the arteries. Atherosclerosis that occurs in the body causes blood pressure to increase and causes the heart to work harder to pump blood. The heart that continues to work hard will experience fatigue and stop working at one time.