Preventing Cardiovascular Disease

Control diabetes -- and keep your heart healthy -- with these tips.

From Stopping Diabetes in Its Tracks

Keep It Up -- and Go Further!

Some of the steps you're already taking to control diabetes can also work wonders against heart and vascular problems. But you and your doctor may want to try other options as well -- including drugs that attack a number of diabetes-related problems at once. Here are some of the most important steps to consider:

• Keep up the good work. By exercising regularly and following your meal plan, you stand to lower your risk of cardiovascular complications. For example, eating more carbohydrates and fiber while consuming less saturated fat can reduce cholesterol in the blood and help you lose excess weight -- a major contributor to high blood pressure. At the same time, exercise strengthens the heart, keeps blood vessels supple, and appears to lower blood pressure even if you're not dropping pounds.
  
  
• But go a little further. You may need to take your diet one step beyond what you're already doing by eating less salt. Over the years, researchers have debated whether salt really affects blood pressure. But one of the most conclusive studies to date -- the 2001 Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension, or DASH II, study -- showed that eating less than one teaspoon of salt a day could lower your stroke risk by 42 percent and your heart-disease risk by more than 20 percent. Americans on average get 8 to 10 times more salt than they need. You can significantly cut your consumption by eating fewer processed foods and more naturally low-salt whole foods like fruits and vegetables.
  
  
• Don't smoke. There are plenty of reasons to give up smoking, but start with the fact that it doubles your risk of having a heart attack. In fact, smoking speeds up or exacerbates just about every process that contributes to cardiovascular disease: It reduces blood flow through the arteries by making them even stiffer and narrower, raises blood pressure, contributes to the formation of plaques that can lead to clogs, makes it easier for blood to clot around obstructions, and worsens pain from peripheral vascular disease.
  
  
• Ask about aspirin. This anti-inflammatory has proven to be a power hitter in the battle against cardiovascular disease. In addition to relieving pain, aspirin makes the clot-forming particles in blood, called platelets, less able to stick together. As a result, taking aspirin every day can cut your risk of a heart attack by a whopping 60 percent. One recent study finds that taking one at bedtime can also reduce high blood pressure.
  
  Check with your doctor about whether you should take lowdose aspirin (81 mg) or full-strength (325 mg) -- or if aspirin is even appropriate for you. Many people find that it irritates or causes bleeding in the stomach, though taking coated tablets that dissolve in the small intestine can help you avoid these problems. Still, you should avoid aspirin if you have a stomach ulcer or liver disease. And talk to your doctor about how aspirin affects the performance of other medications you may be taking -- including blood thinners and drugs for hypertension.
  
  

• Diabetes Super Foods
• 10 foods for better diabetes control.
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• Nuttin' Wrong with Nuts
• Adding this versatile food to your diet is a smart choice.
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• Heart Disease Risk Factors You Can Change
• Reduce the possibility of a heart attack with lifestyle modifications.
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• Exercise: The Diabetes Secret Weapon
• If you take hold of exercise and diet, you can control your diabetes and improve your whole life.
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• Diabetes Resources
• Organizations dedicated to providing you with information and support about living with, and preventing, diabetes.
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