Last updated on 16th Oct 2021 - By Dwayne Michaels

How Abnormal MEAN PLASMA GLUCOSE affects heart?

A higher-than-normal blood sugar level puts you at risk for developing diabetes and heart disease.

A heart attack occurs when an artery that provides blood to the heart is blocked.

Persistent elevations in blood sugar (and, therefore, HbA1c) increase the risk of long-term vascular complications of diabetes, such as coronary disease, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure, blindness, gangrene, and gastroparesis.

Poor blood glucose control also increases the risk of short-term complications of surgery such as poor wound healing.

Type 2 diabetes makes up about 90% of cases of diabetes, with the other 10% due primarily to type 1 diabetes and gestational diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable by staying a normal weight, exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet (high in fruits and vegetables and low in sugar and saturated fats). Treatment involves exercise and dietary changes.

If blood sugar levels are not adequately lowered, the medication metformin is typically recommended. Many people may eventually also require insulin injections. In those on insulin, routinely checking blood sugar levels is advised; however, this may not be needed in those taking pills. Bariatric surgery often improves diabetes in those who are obese.

There are several classes of anti-diabetic medications available. Metformin is generally recommended as a first line treatment as there is some evidence that it decreases mortality; however, this conclusion is questioned. Metformin should not be used in those with severe kidney or liver problems.

Long-term complications from high blood sugar include heart disease, strokes, diabetic retinopathy which can result in blindness, kidney failure, and poor blood flow in the limbs which may lead to amputations. The sudden onset of hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state may occur; however, ketoacidosis is uncommon.

Type 2 diabetes is typically a chronic disease associated with a ten-year-shorter life expectancy. This is partly due to a number of complications with which it is associated, including: two to four times the risk of cardiovascular disease, including ischemic heart disease and stroke; a 20-fold increase in lower limb amputations, and increased rates of hospitalizations.

Did you know? Not getting enough sleep is linked to Heart attack, Depression, High Blood Pressure, Obesity and Diabetes.

In the developed world, and increasingly elsewhere, type 2 diabetes is the largest cause of nontraumatic blindness and kidney failure. It has also been associated with an increased risk of cognitive dysfunction and dementia through disease processes such as Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Most cases of diabetes involve many genes, with each being a small contributor to an increased probability of becoming a type 2 diabetic. The proportion of diabetes that is inherited is estimated at 72%.

More than 36 genes and 80 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) had been found that contribute to the risk of type 2 diabetes. All of these genes together still only account for 10% of the total heritable component of the disease.