People with diabetes have a higher chance of having a heart attack or a stroke than people without diabetes. Having diabetes can almost double the risk of either a heart attack or a stroke. More than 1 in 10 middle-aged or older people could experience such an event over 10 years if they’ve never had one in the past. This would rise to more than 1 in 4 for people who have already had a heart attack or stroke in the past. If either a heart attack or stroke occurs, it can impair well-being and quality of life or cause temporary or permanent disability. It can even be fatal.
The good news is that there are now several proven ways to reduce the chance of a heart attack or stroke from happening. Most importantly, these approaches can be combined. When they are used together, they can reduce the chance of a heart attack or stroke by up to 70%.
The list of proven ways to reduce a heart attack or stroke is shown in the link below. Most are routinely available. Some also reduce blood sugar, cholesterol, or blood pressure levels. Like any drug, they can have side effects, which should be discussed with a health care provider before starting medication.
Drugs Proven to Reduce Heart Attacks and Strokes in People with Diabetes
In addition to these drugs, it is well known that sleeping well, following a healthy diet, engaging in at least moderate physical activity every day, and avoiding or reducing smoking can reduce the risk of these serious outcomes.
About the author
Hertzel Gerstein
Hertzel is an endocrinologist and professor at McMaster University who is in high demand as a speaker, advocate, and educator on diabetes-related topics. His research focuses on using large, international randomized trials to identify and test new ways of preventing type 2 diabetes, reducing serious health outcomes like strokes and death, and achieving type 2 diabetes remissions.
articles
Understanding End-Stage Kidney Disease
People with diabetes may develop kidney disease. Occasionally, it can progress to a serious state called end-stage kidney disease. It is therefore important to understand what this means and how to reduce the chance of it happening. The Threat of Kidney Failure Kidney disease from diabetes can be serious if it progresses. Indeed, Diabetes is...
articles
Diabetes and Kidney Damage
For people living with diabetes, it’s especially important to protect their kidneys. The most common type of kidney disease in people with diabetes is called diabetic nephropathy. Your Kidneys: So Much More than Filters You have two kidneys, and they do a lot more than just make urine! They act like tiny, sophisticated filters for...
articles
How Do Drugs Prescribed to Prevent Diabetes-Related Health Outcomes Actually Work?
Diabetes care is preventive care. Almost all the therapies used by people with diabetes are prescribed because of solid research showing that they can directly or indirectly reduce the chance of developing a serious health outcome in the future. These include drugs that lower glucose and blood pressure, statin drugs for cholesterol lowering, drugs to...