| According to the American Heart Association, "Heart disease is
the leading complication and cause of death among diabetes patients,
yet many of them do not understand the risk or its cause." Adults
with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have heart disease
or suffer a stroke than adults without diabetes. And even though 63
percent of diabetes patients eventually develop cardiovascular disease,
a recent survey found that among diabetics, only 33 percent consider
heart conditions to be among the "most serious" diabetes-related
complications.1 Barely over half (57 percent) the patients were aware
that insulin resistance is associated with heart disease.
This lack of knowledge occurs despite the abundant
clinical and experimental evidence showing a strong relationship
between dysglycemia and heart disease. For years, researchers have
known that high blood sugar levels from diabetes can damage nerves
that help regulate the heart's ability to sustain a steady beat,
impairing what's known as "autonomic control." Eventually,
this damage can lead to an out-of-whack pulse (arrhythmia), a "silent"
heart attack causing permanent cardiac injury, or even sudden death.
Thus, as fasting glucose levels rise, so does the risk of cardiovascular
events and related deaths, even at slight elevations in healthy
non-diabetic individuals.2,3
Growing scientific evidence suggests that there
is no arbitrary point at which imbalances of glucose and insulin
become clinically significant. Instead, the health risks posed by
dysglycemia occur over a continuum: "Metabolic risk factors
for type-2 diabetes mellitus and for cardiovascular disease worsen
continuously across the spectrum of glucose tolerance categories,
beginning in the lowestÉfasting glucose level."4 Hemoglobin
A1c is an important indicator of long-term glucose control, while
fructosamine reflects average glucose levels over a shorter time
period (10-14 days). High levels of these markers have been implicated
in cardiovascular disease complications associated with Type-2 diabetes.5
Studies also suggest that damage to the heart may
actually begin long before full-fledged diabetes appears, and may
be mediated not just by blood sugar imbalances, but by early disruptions
of a insulin response. Subtle abnormalities in insulin and glucose
metabolism are associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease
and mortality.6,7
According to a recent study funded in part by the
National Institutes of Health, increased levels of fasting insulin,
even among healthy non-diabetic adults between the ages of 25 and
44, correspond with impaired autonomic control of the heart. As
fasting insulin levels rose in the subjects, their successive R-waves
measured on an electrocardiogram (ECG) tended to move closer together,
indicating an increased risk of heart-related nerve damage, arrhythmia,
and sudden death.8 These relationships show why itÕs important
for healthcare practitioners to identify and treat all known cardiovascular
risk factors in patients with or at-risk of developing type-2 diabetes.
The Comprehensive
Cardiovascular Assessment is an advanced analysis of
biochemical CVD markers that includes powerful new independent factors
influenced by heredity, nutrition, and inflammation, as well as
classic lipid markers, a cardiovascular index, and 2 computed ratios.
This assessment is crucial for detecting important metabolic imbalances
that can fuel the development of cardiovascular disease in patients
with diabetes. Results can provide the clinical foundation for nutritional
treatment strategies to improve cardiac health and reduce disease
risk.
Call
to set up a nutritional consultation so that tests can be performed
and a comprehensive strategy of lifestyle, dietary modification
and nutrient supplementation can be implemented to aid you in reversing
this disorder.
For an appointment, contact our office at: 800-956-7083 or 818 707-3126.
Dr. Rispoli, Ph.D., L.Ac. has had a clinical practice for over 20
years. Her programs work because she is so thorough in testing and
providing a nutritional approach. Remember that the body can heal
itself if given the proper nutrients.
All lab tests can be done through the mail in the privacy of your
own home, except blood tests, we send you to a lab to have your
blood drawn for these. After you pay for the test we mail you the
kit, the results take two weeks, the test results will be mailed
to us and we will call you to go over the results, its that easy!
All tests include the consultation for the report of findings.
References:
1 American Heart Association News Release; May 21,
2001. Available at: http://www.americanheart.org/What_News/AHA_
News_Releases/05-21-01_comment2.html
2 Bjornholt JV, Erickssen G, Aaser E, Sandvik L,
Nitter-Hauge S, Jervell J, Erikssen J, Thaulow E. Fasting blood
glucose: an underestimated risk factor for cardiovascular death:
results: results from a 22-year follow-up of healthy nondiabetic
men. Diabetes Care 1999;22(1):45-49.
3 Coutinho M, Gersetin HC, Wang Y, Yusuf S. The
relationship between glucose and incident cardiovascular events:
a metaregression analysis of published data from 20 studies of 95,783
individuals followed for 12.4 years. Diabetes Care 22(2):233-240.
4 Meigs JB, Nathan DM, Wilson PW, Cupples LA, Singer
DE. Metabolic risk factors worsen continuously across the spectrum
of nondiabetic glucose tolerance. The Framingham Offspring Study.
Ann Intern Med 1998;128(7):524-533.
5 Raj DSC, Choudhury D, Welbourne TC, Levi M. Advanced
glycation end products: a nephrologist's perspective. Am J Kidney
Dis 2000;35(3):365-380.
6 DECODE study group. Glucose tolerance and mortality:
comparison of WHO and American Diabetes Association diagnostic criteria.
Lancet 1999;354:617-621.
7 Barzilay JI, Spiekerman CF, Wahl PW, Kuller LH,
Cushman M, Furberg CD, Dobs A, Polak JF, Savage PJ. Cardiovascular
disease in older adults with glucose disorders: comparison of American
Diabetes Association criteria for diabetes mellitus with WHO criteria.
Lancet 1999;354:622-625.
8 Watkins LL, Surwit RS, Grossman P, Sherwood A.
Is there a glycemic threshold for impaired autonomic control? Diabetes
Care 2000;23(6):826-30. On-line at http://journal.diabetes.org/FullText/DiabetesCare
/2000-06ft/page826.htm
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