Before going on to diabetes heart attack symptoms let’s talk about what a heart attack is and the common causes of heart disease in diabetics. Basically, heart disease is anything that makes the heart function in anything other than the normal way. The reason people with diabetes tend to have more heart attacks than those without diabetes, is because diabetics have more bad LDL cholesterol and less good HDL cholesterol. As a result, there isn’t enough good cholesterol to help move the bad cholesterol from the bloodstream to the liver. The bad cholesterol then builds up in the blood vessels and interferes with the flow of blood. If and when the vessels leading to the heart get clogged, it causes a heart attack. If and when the vessels to the legs get clogged it causes peripheral arterial disease, also known as PAD. Other causes of heart attack related to diabetes are the changes in the blood vessels produced by hyperglycemia, changes in the coagulation properties and changes in the plaque that form in the blood vessels.

Diabetes Heart Attack Symptoms,What Are They

The most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain. Most people are quite aware of that. But is this same symptom true for those people with diabetes? The answer, unfortunately, is no. Diabetes heart attack symptoms are different, simply because diabetes can impact the nerves of the body. It’s called diabetic neuropathy and means that people with diabetes lose the ability to feel pain. Not necessarily all diabetics, but many of them. So what happens is, a person with diabetes can have a heart attack and not feel any chest pain. These are referred to as silent heart attacks and many times are not diagnosed until the person has a routine medical examination. Naturally, anyone that has already had a heart attack is at greater risk of yet another. Once a silent heart attack has been identified, they should be closely monitored by a cardiologist. There are other symptoms as well. These are shortness of breath, extreme weakness or anxiety, discomfort in the back, neck, arms or stomach, sweating or being light headed and nausea or indigestion. If you have any of these symptoms that last for more than five minutes, seek medical attention immediately. These are all symptoms of a heart attack in diabetics.

Having mentioned peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and diabetic neuropathy, you should know that this disease may also not show any symptoms in people with diabetes and for the same reason, loss of feeling. The best way to diagnose this problem is by testing/checking the pulses in the ankle to be sure that there is no impaired circulation. Here are some symptoms to watch for; persistent leg pain, painful cramps in the calves, hips or thighs during exercise such as walking of climbing up stairs, wounds on the feet that heal slow or not at all, lower temperature in the affected leg or foot as compared with the rest of the body and gangrene.

Diabetes Heart Attack Symptoms, How To Lower The Risk

Symptoms of diabetic heart attack can be difficult to determine at times. For that reason it is demanding of the diabetic to minimize the risk factors. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack than those people who do not have diabetes. The situation is the same with regard to PAD. In spite of these statistics, it doesn’t mean a heart attack is inevitable. There is much one can do help minimize the risk of either. Studies have shown that a healthy lifestyle can be effective in diabetes heart attack symptoms and keeping them at bay. All diabetics know the regimen, good diet, exercise and lose and maintain your weight at a healthy level. Many times this means a complete change in their way of life from what it was before becoming a diabetic, but it essential if they want a chance at a long and healthy life. Knowing what the diabetes heart attack symptoms are and how to defend against them is important to a longer life. Studies have shown that for each percentage point a diabetics A1c increases, their chance for a diabetic heart attack increases by 14%. Therefore, check your blood sugar levels regularly, eat a healthy diet, lose weight (if necessary) and exercise regularly. You will be happy you did.

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