Many body systems are connected, and some diseases or conditions can be factors in other diseases and conditions. Diabetes and heart disease are two examples.

Can a disease affecting blood sugar affect your blood vessels and heart? Absolutely, and in more ways than one.

Numbers help tell the story

About 34 million people in the U.S. have diabetes and 20 percent of them don’t know it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 88 million adults are on the cusp of developing diabetes (called prediabetes) and more than 80 percent of them don’t know it.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. The American Heart Association predicts more than 130 million Americans will have some type of heart disease by 2030, just eight years from now.

That’s a lot of potential health trouble.

Know your risk

Diabetes can significantly increase your risk for heart disease, and high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes are closely linked.

Diabetes promotes the development of plaque in your arteries. That’s the substance that clings to the wall of your arteries and restricts or blocks blood flow, increasing the risk for things such as heart attack and stroke.

In fact, people with diabetes are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as those without diabetes.

Diabetes also can lead to blood vessel damage in the eyes, kidneys and nerves, and conditions like heart failure can lead to diabetes.

There’s good news too

The news isn’t all bad. There are a lot of tools at your disposal to reduce your risk. Things like regular exercise, weight loss and a healthy diet can help reduce both your diabetes and heart disease risk.

“The first step in lowering that risk is knowing your numbers,” says cardiologist Jeffrey Snyder, MD, with Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) Cardiology–Lehighton and Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) Cardiology–1250 Cedar Crest.

“Know your blood pressure, be aware of your fasting blood sugar levels, and have your primary care provider or cardiologist initiate basic diagnostic studies as a starting point.”

There are also medications for controlling both coronary disease and heart failure, and coronary heart disease risk among U.S. adults has improved significantly over the past decade.

“There is such a close connection between diabetes and cardiovascular disease that the new diabetes medications released have had to show cardiovascular benefit in order to be produced,” says cardiologist Daniel Makowski, DO, with LVH Cardiology–1250 Cedar Crest. “This highlights the multilevel understanding and commitment to the relationship between diabetes and the cardiovascular system.”

If you are concerned about your risk for diabetes or heart disease, you should speak to your primary care provider.

They will be able to recommend specific steps you can take to decrease your risk for both or refer you to a specialist for additional care.

For more information about the services Lehigh Valley Health Network offers for diabetes and heart disease care, visit LVHN.org.