Re: Diabetes Triples Heart Attack Risk

July 17, 1999

Diabetes Triples Risk for Heart Attack

During the last decade, serotonin and depression were in the news. If

researchers from the University of Vermont have their say, the new buzzword

for this decade may well be " C reactive protein. "

C reactive protein is a substance released during inflammation. Previously,

this team has studied its role in myocardial infarctions (heart attack) and

stroke. They found that those with a high level of C reactive protein were

three times more likely to have a heart attack and twice as likely to have a

stroke. Researchers recommend that C reactive protein levels be accepted as

an independent risk factor for both heart attack and stroke, just like high

cholesterol or family history.

[article copied from the latest online MediConsult.com ...

Not a heart patient you say? If you're a diabetic, odds are very strong that

you will be, unless you keep tight control on your blood sugar. The insulin

resistance that precedes diabetes also precedes atherosclerosis (clogged

arteries). High C reactive protein levels correlate with increased insulin

resistance and an elevated body mass index.

During their study, researchers found that the C reactive protein was only

mild to moderately elevated, indicating that there is a chronic, low level

of inflammation in people with diabetes. Other substances called cytokines,

which also are indicators of inflammation, were elevated as well, leading

researchers to wonder if diabetes develops along a spiral pathway much like

inflammation itself.

When mice were injected with IL-6, one type of cytokine, inflammation

increased dramatically. However, even after the IL-6 had worn off, the

inflammation persisted. Researchers theorized that perhaps having

inflammation breeds more inflammation.

Factors affecting your C reactive protein level are gender, age, body mass

index, glucose tolerance status, insulin sensitivity, hypertension, and

arthritis

Some risk factors can't be altered, such as age. However, decreasing your

blood pressure or your weight causes your C reactive protein to decrease,

which in turn, may lower your susceptibility to diabetes.

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