DIABETES AND HEART FAILURE; ARE WOMEN WITH DIABETES AT HIGHER RISK?
by: Ana Patricia Flipse, MS, RD, LD/N
The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in heart failure is almost 20% compared to 4% in control populations. There is an increased risk of heart failure in diabetes and poor glycemic control has been linked with a greater risk of heart failure.
Diabetes increases the risk of developing heart failure independently of other risk factors. Women with diabetes over the age of 45 are five times more likely to develop heart failure than women of the same age without diabetes. Findings from the Framingham study showed the risk of heart failure was increased 2.4 in diabetic men and 5 fold in diabetic women.
A study in the American Heart Association’s journal (Circulation) found that the presence of diabetes tripled the risk of heart failure. In women also obese, the annual rate of heart failure was 8%. In diabetic women with renal failure it was 13%. Not much is known about what predisposes women to heart failure, except that they seemed less likely to have a previous heart attack than men.
In conclusion, it is important to be aware that there is a much greater risk for diabetic women to develop heart failure than diabetic men and serious preventive measures should be addressed such as following a healthy diet with healthy diabetes recipes, exercise most days of the week and maintain a good blood glucose control.
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Posted: December 1, 2011