Lifestyle modifications can help protect your heart and manage type 2 diabetes.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Take these steps to manage your risk.
Disclosure: Sponsored by two of Canada’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies
For the over 3.5 million Canadians living with type 2 diabetes, Diabetes Awareness Month offers a timely opportunity to remind patients to take small steps to protect their hearts.
It’s time for a heart to heart
You may know someone who’s been struggling with type two diabetes for a while, maybe you even know someone who has lost their vision or even a lower limb. Both complications are fairly well known, but the silent and more common complication of type 2 diabetes is heart disease and it’s a serious risk. One in two people with type 2 diabetes dies due to heart disease.
“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for people with type 2 diabetes,” says Dr. Heywood Choi, an endocrinologist from Abbotsford. “For many years we’ve had medications that effectively lower blood sugar, control blood pressure or lower cholesterol, but they didn’t demonstrate any evidence of heart protection. In the last decade, there have been great advances in medications that also reduce risk of heart attack, stroke and death from cardiovascular disease.”
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3 tips to set you on the right track:
Additional lifestyle changes that can also help protect your heart:
If you have type 2 diabetes, speak to your doctor about how you can protect your heart health. Together, you can come up with an achievable step-by-step plan to reduce the risk of heart disease. Visit www.myheartmatters.ca to learn more.
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