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Can Diabetes Be Prevented?

Your lifestyle plays a big part in the development and management of diabetes. While not all types of diabetes are preventable, how you live and what you eat makes a difference.

At HeartCare Associates of Connecticut, LLC, our cardiovascular specialists offer comprehensive management services for diabetes. We give you the tools to make the lifestyle and dietary changes necessary to support your health and prevent certain types of diabetes.

Our other goal is to reduce your risk for heart-related complications of diabetes, such as heart disease and stroke.

Preventable and non-preventable diabetes

There are four types of diabetes – Type 1, Type 2, prediabetes, and gestational diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, and even with a healthy lifestyle, you can’t prevent it. With the other three types of diabetes, there are things you can do to lower your risk for developing them.

Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease that causes your body to mistakenly attack your pancreas, the organ that produces the insulin hormone. Insulin helps convert the sugar from your diet into the energy you need to function.

Without sufficient insulin, the sugar levels in your blood rise too high. This can lead to blood vessel damage, nerve damage, and other long-term health complications.

Many people develop diabetes in childhood, but you can also be diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as an adult.

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body doesn’t produce as much insulin as you need or doesn’t properly use the insulin it produces. This leads to high blood sugar levels that can increase your risk for nerve damage, heart disease, and stroke.

Lifestyle factors like a poor diet, lack of exercise, and weight challenges contribute to Type 2 diabetes. These factors also contribute to prediabetes, a condition where your blood sugar levels are high, but not high enough to be considered diabetes.

Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes describes a rise in blood sugar levels during pregnancy. This condition isn’t always preventable, but women can work with their obstetrician to lower their risk factors for it.

Typically, this type of diabetes resolves after childbirth. Lifestyle and diet changes can help prevent gestational diabetes and manage the condition if you get it.

Options for diabetes prevention

Our team at HeartCare Associates of Connecticut, LLC, provides comprehensive heart evaluations for people who already have diabetes. We perform blood work, echocardiograms, and other advanced heart testing to ensure your heart is free of diabetes-related damage.

We also customize a health care plan to lower your risk for prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and diabetes heart disease. Our office features nutritional counseling and obesity treatments in-office, so you can learn how to make changes to your diet and incorporate more exercise into your life.

If you have diabetes, you should also keep up with appointments with your primary care provider to ensure that your condition is well-controlled and that the treatments are working well. You also need to continually monitor your blood sugar levels at home to stay on top of diabetes.

To schedule a screening for heart disease, call the HeartCare Associates of Connecticut, LLC, office nearest you today or book a consultation online. 

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HeartCare Associates of Connecticut provides the highest level of care to our patients. From treatments of common coronary problems, to non-invasive and state-of-the-art procedures, to life saving surgeries our dedicated and compassionate staff will make you feel at ease.

Some of the most common illnesses and issues we treat are:

  • Aneurysms

  • Cardiac Catherterization, Angiography & Stenting

  • Congestive Heart Failure Treatment Center

  • Coronary Bypass Surgery

  • Coronary Heart Disease

  • Coumadin & Anticoagulation Clinic

  • Diabetes

  • Dizziness, Palpitations, & Heart Rhythmn

  • Heart Valve Problems

  • High Cholesterol & Triglycerides

  • Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

  • Nuclear Cardiac Scanning

  • Nutrition Programs

  • Pacemakers

  • Peripheral Arterial Disease

  • Preventive Health Programs

  • Stroke Prevention

  • Swelling (Edema) of the Legs & Ankles

  • Treatment & Prevention of Obesity

  • Ultrasound Testing & Echocardiography

  • Vein Care

  • Womens Health