Tight blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes linked to fewer heart attacks and strokes

Diabetes damages every part of the body, from the brain to the feet. High blood sugar, the hallmark of diabetes, wreaks havoc on blood vessels. It makes sense that keeping blood sugar under control should prevent diabetes-related damage — but how low to push blood sugar is an open question. A study published in today’s issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) provides reassuring evidence that so-called tight blood sugar control is good for the heart and circulatory system. “Tight blood sugar control represents a new age of diabetes care,” says Dr. David Nathan, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of both the General Clinical Research Center and the Diabetes Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. The hazards of high blood sugar Type 2 diabetes is marked by high levels of blood sugar. Over time, high blood sugar damages small blood vessels throughout the body. This is called microvascular disease. The damage can lead to kidney failure, nerve pain, amputation, and blindness. But the leading cause of complications and death in people with diabetes is cardiovascular disease, which involves the body’s larger blood vessels. (This is also called macrovascular disease.) About two-thirds of people with diabetes die from heart disease, stroke, or other cardiovascular problems. A good measure of blood sugar is the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test. It reveals a person’s average blood sugar level over the previous three mont...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Diabetes blood sugar blood sugar control Source Type: news