Early heart attacks in diabetes

It would be better if you post the details on the human heart - its structure and functions.

Heart as a pump and something about its structure and function:

The human heart could be compared to an electric motor, which pumps blood (oxygen) supplying whole body. Imagine a machine pumping 5 liters of blood with an adequate pressure every minute, round-the-clock for years together without a pause without any maintenance. This is really something phenomenal! The electric current for pumping comes from the internal pacemaker in the heart itself and that current is carried to the whole heart with the concealed wiring (conducting system) within its wall. Thats how the heart pumps. The pumping also needs oxygen, which comes from 3 major blood vessels supplying blood (oxygenated) to the heart walls.

As long as the above mechanisms are intact, pumping is good and the body functions well.

Heart attack:

With the age, there is deposition of fat in the blood vessels, due to which they go on narrowing. A stage comes late in the life when a blood vessel of the heart is completely blocked. Thats when the blood supply to the heart wall is hampered and pumping gets affected. This could be angina, or heart attack (permanent damage). If it is a heart attack, the specific portion of the heart supplied by that blood vessel is permanently damaged affecting the pumping (Ejection fraction).

The severity of the heart attack depends on which vessel out of the three is blocked. When the heart wall is damaged permanently, it could also affect the wiring (conducting system) causing failure to pump the blood.

Implications due to daily habits:

Now, with normal ageing an average person would live till 80-90 yrs (try to recall grandfather's age). Suddenly in last 50 yrs, there has been an amazing progress. The economies grew at exponential rates. There was easy money with less effort. By less efforts, I mean the physical efforts. Machines, computers and automobiles replaced physical efforts. But mental stress levels increased. Food intake remained the same! Hoteling and frequently eating out (everything has excess fats) was added to the lifestyle.

So when our grandfathers worked in the farms, they spent whatever they ate (calories) in the form of physical work and remained healthy. We instead eat the same amount (maybe more) and the only exercise we do probably is to run to catch a lift! So where do those extra calories we eat go? They are converted into the fat under the skin. When those stores are full, they deposit as fat around the organs in the abdomen (big tummy). And when even those stores are full, the fat start getting deposited in the blood vessels including those of heart and brain leading to premature blocking.

So when our grandfathers got heart attacks at 90-95 yrs of age, our fathers got them at 60-70 yrs. And these days we see them 45-60 yrs! Some as young as 35 yrs too are not that rare. So its quite a scary situation. So we seriously need to rethink about our current lifestyle. Good news is, it can still be altered! Its never too late. Even if we start acting NOW, we can still easily add a good 15-20 yrs to our lives!

If you add diabetes to the above situation:

The increased sugar in the blood enhances everything at the faster pace! Worse is, diabetes causes multiple blocks in all the 3 heart vessels instead of just one, so a person has to undergo a bypass operation, which is a major surgery. Diabetes also makes the heart walls weak (diabetic cardiomyopathy) affecting its pumping.

To sum it up, things which would enhance the blocking process causing early heart attacks or Brain attacks (Stroke, paralysis):

Hypertension-Damage to blood vessels- early blockage

Raised lipids (commonly called as cholesterol)-Early blocks

Diabetes

Lack of awareness (One of the purposes of staring this thread)

Smoking

Alcohol

Mental stress-Probably one of the most important factor

Misuse of food and oils

Overeating

Frequently eating fried foods

Excess use of cooking oils (more than ½ liter per person per month)

Lack of physical exercise

What tests should one undergo to find out his conditions of the heart?

- Routine physical examination by your family physician

- Baseline blood investigations including blood sugar and lipid levels

- ECG

- If you get chest pains or discomfort on exertion your doctor might suggest you treadmill testing (stress testing)

- Echocardiography – it's a sonography of heart

- Angiography- It shows the percentage of blocks in the heart blood vessels

- CT angiography – same as above

- Thallium scans – Tells about function of heart walls.

Any of the above tests can be done as indicated, only after the consultation with your local physician.

I hope it this would help.