It is alarming to know that every year diabetes mellitus kills more than 70,000 United States residents and about 20 million people in U. S. alone suffer from this disease. Five in hundred people in the U. K. are affected with diabetes.

In Canada about 6 per cent of it’s population are with diabetes mellitus which invariably accounts for about 20,000 deaths annually according to experts. In addition, diabetes is a contributory factor in heart diseases and other related health conditions.

Diabetes is caused by the body resistance to, or deficiency of the hormone "insulin" which helps in removal of excess sugar from the blood stream into the body cells so that it can be used as a source of energy.

If this hormone insulin is deficient or ineffective, blood sugar rises causing excessive urination, hunger and thirst. Apart from excess urine, additional symptoms may include weight loss, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, irritability, weakness and fatigue.

There are two main types of diabetes:

Type 1: Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or otherwise known as "juvenile onset" diabetes this type normally starts at childhood or early adulthood and has a very strong genetic components. This type is characterized by a complete lack of insulin as the name implies and must be treated with regular insulin injections.

This type 1 diabetes is also an autoimmune disease ( that is a condition whereby the body’s disease fighting immune system attacks it’s healthy tissues and cells). In this case the immune system attacks and destroys insulin producing cells in the pancreas.

Type 2: Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or "maturity onset" diabetes tens to develop in middle age or older individuals particularly those who are obese.

In this case the pancreas secrets enough insulin, but the body cells seem resistant to it’s effects making the body to release more insulin in the blood by trying to overcome the resistance.

Most cases of type 2 diabetes can be managed with a combination of diet, exercise and oral medication. Symptoms includes repeated infections or skin sore that heals slowly or not at all, numbness in the hand or feet, tiredness and nausea.

For women, it is particularly important because diabetes seems to affect the female hormone and as a result, many women with diabetes develop coronary heart disease. Diabetes may cause blockage of large blood vessels that can lead to severe cardiovascular problems.

Studies have shown that some environmental factors can trigger type 1 diabetes in people with genetic predisposition for the disease.

Researchers attributes type 2 diabetes to obesity. So every pound of excess weight you gain increases your chance by 5 per cent at least.

Treatment includes controlling the amount of glucose in your blood stream depending on the type of diabetes, physical exercise, controlled diet and medication makes it less common. Most importantly, check your blood sugar regularly and see your physician for a more qualified advise.

A couple of drugs like, Glucophage, Actos, Precose, Avandis and many others have been developed to help with type 2 diabetes. Consult your doctor for a detailed and proper form of treatment.

To learn more about diabetes and heart diseases Call 1-800-AHA-USA1 (1-800-242-8721) or visit http://www.americanheart.org

Knowledge is power, so Learn and Live!

There seem not to be one single cause of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), but medical research have, however, shown that a whole range of things can make you more likely to develop Coronary Heart Disease.
Just like a very high speeding car is more likely to hit and crash into another car than a slower speeding car. So a person with one or more risk factors will be more likely to develop heart disease than someone without any. Though not every very high speeding car crash and not every with Coronary Heart Disease risk factors gets a heart attack, but the chances are undeniably greater.

These risk factors are divided into two groups: the non-modifiable and the modifiable factors.

The non-modifiable risk factors: are as the name implies, are those risk that we cannot do anything about. They can’t be altered by our lifestyle changes or medical treatments. And they include:

Age and gender: Coronary heart disease becomes more common with older age and it is the strongest predictor of coronary deaths in women. Two third of women who die from heart diseases are ages between 55 – 65 years old. Below the age of 65, it is much more common disease among men then women. This is because after menopause (a period when women menstruating).

Coronary Heart Disease becomes more common among women. It does seem likely that age different among men and women with CHD is related to estrogen hormone that disappear once menstruation stops, this hormone has a way of regulating and maintaining the effects of the Coronary Heart Disease in women. But test carried on women who are undergoing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have shown some evidence that this can protect against heart diseases. Many doctors are recommending HRT for this reason as well as, of course for other reasons.

Family history or Genetic factor: as with age and gender, we don’t choose our parents so we’re stuck with our genetic history. If your father or mother had a heart attack below the age of 65, this may increase your own risk significantly, but getting it from a second or third degree relative is less likely. The reason being that the gene we inherit from our parents may make us more liable to have high cholesterol or less insulin production in our body.
It is advisable to have a medical check up from time to time with your doctor in order to reduce or treat the risk on time.

The modifiable risk factors: are the ones that can be influenced by changes in our various lifestyles such as diet, physical exercise and medical treatment. The major risk factors include smoking, raised blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, lack of exercise. While the contributory risk factors are obesity, stress, alcoholism, raises insulin level, fibrinogen, homocysteine and some others.

The risk of you developing Coronary Heart Disease becomes greater the more risk factor you have. Some risk however has much greater effect on your chances of developing Coronary Heart Disease, for instance a smoker with high blood pressure and a raised cholesterol level has a much higher risk than a non-smoker who has these factors.

In general, Coronary Heart Disease is a disease of the affluence, it’s rare in the tropics and developing countries but common in North America, northern Europe and Australia and it’s more related to lifestyle.

To learn more about risk factors in coronary heart disease Call 1-800-AHA-USA1 (1-800-242-8721) or visit http://www.americanheart.org

Knowledge is power, so Learn and Live!