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British Heart Foundation - Beating heart disease together

Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes means that there is too much glucose (sugar) in the blood. Your body usually produces glucose when you digest your food, and a hormone called insulin takes the glucose from your blood and helps it enter your cells where it used. As the insulin takes the glucose, your blood glucose level reduces. Diabetes develops when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin, which leads to the level of glucose in your blood becoming too high.

Are there different types of diabetes?

Yes, there are two types:

Type one diabetes: your body cannot make insulin. This type usually affects children and young adults.

Type two diabetes: this is more common, and occurs when you can’t produce enough insulin or it doesn’t work properly. Type two diabetes tends to develop gradually as people get older – usually after the age of 40. It is closely linked with being overweight and not being physically active. People are also more likely to develop this condition if there is a family history of diabetes.

Almost two million adults have been diagnosed with diabetes in the UK, but this number is rising. Worryingly, type two diabetes is now being diagnosed in younger people. It is estimated that by 2010 about three million people will have been diagnosed with diabetes. Some ethnic groups have a much higher rate of diabetes - particularly people of African Caribbean and South Asian origin.

How is diabetes linked to heart disease?

Diabetes increases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. High glucose levels can affect the artery walls, encouraging fatty deposits (atheroma) to develop. If you have diabetes, you are more likely to have high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. Diabetes also increases the effect of some of the other risk factors for cardiovascular disease – such as smoking and being overweight.

What can I do?

If you don’t have diabetes, you can greatly reduce your risk of developing it by controlling your weight and doing regular physical activity.

If you do have diabetes, it’s very important to make sure that you control your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. This will help to keep your risk of cardiovascular disease as low as possible. You can also:

Do more physical activity
Eat a healthy, balanced diet
Control your weight and body shape
Give up smoking

If you are diagnosed with diabetes, you may also need to take medication such as statins (a cholesterol-lowering medicine) to help protect your heart.