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5 ways to protect your heart when you have diabetes

Keep your heart healthy with these diabetes-friendly lifestyle changes.

Updated on August 17, 2022

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If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, it’s vital to take steps to protect your heart health. In fact, people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes have such a greater risk of heart disease, there’s a name for it: diabetic heart disease (DHD), also known as diabetic cardiomyopathy.

For example, women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are up to five times more likely to haveShow More

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Eat a well-balanced diet

A balanced diet is important for your overall health, but is crucial for people with diabetes and diabetic heart disease. The food you eat can help you maintain healthy blood sugar levels, manage your weight, and provide your body with the heart-healthy nutrients it needs.

In addition to eatingShow More

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Maintain a healthy weight

Excess weight is the major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes, as well as comorbidities like high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack. What’s more, excess weight can cause insulin resistance; those who are overweight or obese aren’t able to use insulin as effectively orShow More

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Move every day

Getting daily activity—even if it’s just a walk around the neighborhood—is key to heart health, especially for people living with diabetes. Experts recommend adults get in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (or a combination of the two)Show More

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Kick the tobacco habit

Smoking is considered to be a cause of diabetes. People who smoke have up to a 40 percent higher risk of developing the condition, according to a 2014 United States Surgeon General’s report. And the more you smoke, the higher your risk. 

When you have diabetes, smoking makes managing theShow More

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Know your numbers

In addition to monitoring your blood sugar levels, if you have diabetes, you should be regularly testing your blood pressure and cholesterol, too. Being aware of your numbers—whether they’re good or bad—can help you take the steps necessary to improve your heart health.

If you have high bloodShow More

Slideshow sources open slideshow sources

Ritchie R & Abel D. Basic Mechanisms of Diabetic Heart Disease. Circulation Research. May 21, 2020. 126; 1501-1525.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diabetes and Your Heart. Page last updated June 20, 2022. 
American Heart Association. Too much belly fat, even for people with a healthy BMI, raises heart risk. Page last updated April 22, 2021.
American Diabetes Association. Fats. Page accessed on August 2, 2022.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fiber: The Carb That Helps You Manage Diabetes. Page last updated June 20, 2022. 
American Diabetes Association. Extra Weight, Extra Risk. Page accessed August 2, 2022.
Cleveland Clinic. Diabesity: How Obesity Is Related to Diabetes. November 8, 2021. 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How much physical activity do adults need? Page last reviewed June 2, 2022.
Lakehi S, et al. Short-term physical inactivity induces diacylglycerol accumulation and insulin resistance in muscle via lipin1 activation. Endocrinology and Metabolism. December 3, 2021. 321.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking and Diabetes. Page last updated May 5, 2022.
Mayo Clinic. Diabetes care: 10 ways to avoid complications. Page last updated January 29, 2022.
USDA. Dietary Guidelines for Americans: 2020-2025. December 2020.
Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Whole Grains. Accessed August 17, 2022.
Hollis JF, Gullion CM, et al. Weight Loss Maintenance Trial Research Group. Weight loss during the intensive intervention phase of the weight-loss maintenance trial. Am J Prev Med. 2008 Aug;35(2):118-26. 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014.

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