Having diabetes makes people more
likely to suffer strokes and heart disease
February 6, 2004
By Helen Altonn
Myrtle Nyuha, 65, of Pearl City gets the message loud
and clear from the American Diabetes Association and
American Heart Association.
She was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2000, putting
her at high risk for cardiovascular problems, and she
had a triple bypass in 2002.
Nyuha said she has made lifestyle changes, which heart
and diabetes professionals urge to prevent or control
diabetes and reduce heart risks.
Diabetes contributes to heart disease, which is the
No. 1 killer in America, and to stroke, the third killer
and a leading cause of severe long-term disability.
Diabetes is known as "the silent killer disease."
"About 75 percent of patients with diabetes will
end up dying of a cardiovascular event, be it a heart
attack or stroke," says Dr. Laurie Tom, endocrinologist
in private practice and University of Hawaii assistant
clinical professor of medicine.
Many times people think a heart attack or stroke caused
a death "when the main risk factor started early
on, which is diabetes, associated with hypertension
and high cholesterol," she said.
Emphasis should be on preventing diabetes, but though
there is more awareness of obesity as a cause, "it
hasn't translated into behavior changes," Tom said.
February is American Heart Month and the American Heart
Association is sponsoring a series of events to promote
heart health.
Diabetes experts also will give patients the latest
information to improve their care at a "Taking
Control of Your Diabetes Conference & Health Fair"
Saturday in Honolulu and Sunday in Lihue.
The diabetes association is trying to partner with
heart and cardiology organizations to deliver common
messages, said Tom, co-director of the conference with
Viola Genadio, certified diabetes educator and diabetes
clinical nurse specialist at St. Francis Medical Center.
"We're all trying to do the same thing on a lot
of levels in terms of having patients become more knowledgeable
and take better care of themselves," Tom said.
Nyuha, who has three children and three grandchildren,
said both of her parents had diabetes and heart problems,
so it wasn't much of a surprise when she was told she
had diabetes. "But then my heart got really bad
and I needed a triple bypass. I was very concerned at
that point."
She said she started walking 10 minutes a day because
of the diabetes and did stair-climbing at Pearl City
High School, where she was a special education assistant.
"That is how I found I was getting dizzy and lightheaded.
"My doctor said I was getting old and it was old
age creating lightheadedness and dizziness. Getting
old was a matter of fact but I was not getting dizzy
because I was old," she said.
She went to the Holistica Hawaii Health Center for
tests that showed she needed a triple bypass, and she
changed doctors, she said.
About eight months after the bypass, she began having
mini-strokes and her neurologist recommended that she
go to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio for evaluation.
She underwent an intervention procedure there last June
to unplug her main artery that "was a miracle for
me," she said.
She has stepped up her walks from 10 minutes to at
least 30 minutes a day.
She's also eating more chicken and fish, but acknowledges,
"I could get a few more pounds down ... I'm trying
to become a vegetarian. It's a hard deal."
But her diabetes is under control and a recent heart
examination was positive, she said.
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