Taking Diabetes to Heart: The Link between Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
November is National Diabetes Month, with World Diabetes Day on November 14th.
Aside from raising general awareness about the various kinds of diabetes, there’s a key fact that even many diabetics don’t know: Adults with diabetes are almost twice as likely to die from heart disease or stroke than people who are diabetes-free.
This fact is so important that for the 2019 campaign, the National Institutes of Health has added a special emphasis called “Take Diabetes to Heart”.
Retailers of Omron blood pressure monitors can take advantage of this focus to educate customers, especially diabetic ones, as to the life-saving benefits of blood pressure monitoring.
How diabetes affects the heart
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, high blood glucose associated with diabetes can damage blood vessels and the nerves that control the heart and blood vessels.
And there’s more:
“The longer you have diabetes, the higher the chances that you will develop heart disease.”
That’s because diabetics are more likely to have other risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
It gets worse:
“High blood pressure can strain your heart, damage blood vessels, and increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, eye problems, and kidney problems.”
In other words, it aggravates existing problems caused by high blood glucose.
And finally:
“In adults with diabetes, the most common causes of death are heart disease and stroke.”
But there is good news. There are steps a diabetic can take to reduce the risks.
Following the ABCs
If diabetics can successfully manage their “ABCs”, as well as develop healthy lifestyle habits, manage stress, and take their prescription drugs, the threat of heart disease and stroke can be greatly reduced.
The ABCs are:
- A1C Blood Sugar Levels
- Blood Pressure Levels
- Cholesterol Levels
Managing B: How Omron blood pressure monitors can help
Many doctors recommend monitoring blood pressure at home, as part of an overall treatment plan. Users can then log data and submit it to the doctor’s office.
Based on a March 2018 survey of physicians who recommend a home blood pressure monitor brand, Omron blood pressure monitors top the list. Pharmacists also overwhelmingly suggest Omron.
Petra offers two styles of Omron digital monitors—wrist and upper arm. Both styles are accurate and are available across varying price points. As a general rule, the higher the Series number, the more features are offered.
Wrist-style digital blood pressure monitors
Wrist style provides portability. This makes it easy to keep track of blood pressure readings while traveling—especially important during vacations and holidays. Petra has these available in Omron 3 Series and Omron 7 Series. The 7 Series offers Bluetooth connectivity to the Connect app.
Upper-arm-style digital blood pressure monitors
Upper-arm style is the more traditional kind of monitoring system. Petra has these in the Omron 3 Series, Omron 5 Series, Omron 7 Series, and Omron 10 Series variations. Some are wireless Bluetooth enabled and work with the Omron Connect app. The app, in turn, can interact with Amazon Alexa. This means, among other things, that Alexa can create a personalized blood pressure report. It can also be programmed for setting blood pressure monitoring reminders and comparing readings across different dates and times of day.
And one upper-arm monitor, the Evolv, not only works with Alexa, it eliminates the tubing between the cuff and the monitor. This makes it very easy to use—and highly portable as well.
Taking Diabetes to Heart
Take advantage of National Diabetes Month to promote the link between heart disease and diabetes. And make sure you have a good selection of blood pressure monitors on hand. As one of the authorized Omron distributors, Petra.com has a wide variety of Omron blood pressure monitors from which you can choose.