Diabetics can cut Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke by increasing Insulin Injections

December 22nd 2005

Blood Sugar Testing

Researchers have found that increasing the number in insulin injections per day will substantially reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in Type 1 diabetes patients. Cardiovascular disease is one of the deadliest complications of the condition.

The risk of heart disease is 10 times greater in people with type 1 diabetes. The good news is that aggressively controlling blood sugar by increasing the number of injections a day will cut the risk of heart attack in half. Most diabetics will inject themselves once or twice a day. Aggressive control would mean five or six injections a day.

Dr. Saul M Genuth, chairman of a research project initiated in 1983 said "When you bring your blood glucose as close to normal as possible, that is what counts most,” reports Newsday. The first trial ended in 1993 and included 1,441 type 1 patients.

In 1993 the Genuth found that there were benefits in tightly controlling glucose. At that time they found that increasing the number of injections reduced eye, kidney and nerve damage. After this discovery they focused on a possible reduction in heart attacks and strokes.

The new research followed 1394 diabetics for over 10 years. David Nathan of the Harvard Medical School in Boston who co-chaired the study being published in today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine said “This is the most important diabetes news of the year. This is the remaining piece of the puzzle with regard to our ability to take the teeth out of diabetes and make it a less dangerous disease,” according to the Washington Post.

Diabetics on the strict regimen were 42% less likely to have heart problems and 57% less likely to have heart attacks or strokes. The research was published in this issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputation in adults. It is also a major cause of cardiovascular disease. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the body destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. This will cause blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Type 2 diabetes typically emerges in middle age. This is not usually as severe but must be controlled with diet and / or medications.