Researchers of a new study found that younger women with type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of developing heart diseases.
Heart diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention reports that approximately 80 million Americans have one or more types of heart disease. Type 2 diabetes is another widespread condition in the country with over 8.3% of the population suffering from it.
Now, researchers of a new study found that younger women with type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of developing heart diseases. For the study, researchers looked at 1,256 Argentine premenopausal and menopausal women with and without type 2 diabetes. All participants were aged between 19 and 84. The all underwent ultrasound imaging to measure plaque in their carotid arteries, the major artery running down the neck. Taking into consideration all factors including age, smoking history, family history, having high blood pressure or menopausal status, researchers noticed that plaque build-up was more common among the 293 women with type 2 diabetes compared with the 963 who didn't have diabetes.
"To reduce the risk of heart attacks, we recommend screening women with type 2 diabetes at younger ages, even if they don't have other known risk for heart disease," said Nestor Garcia, M.D., Ph.D, investigator from Blossom DMO, Cordoba, Argentina and CONICET, an Argentine government agency in Buenos Aires, in a press release.
Scientists are looking at developing ways to tackle the growing problems related to heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. Many studies have been conducted on both topics, providing patients with information on how to tackle these disorders.
A very recent study found heart disease patients who have a positive attitude are more likely to exercise more, thus, increasing their survival rate.
