Public awareness of the link between diabetes and CVD is low, and many people with diabetes do not understand all they can do to manage their disease and reduce their risk for complications, including heart attack and stroke.
Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about two to four times higher than adults without diabetes, and the risk for stroke is also two to four times higher among people with diabetes.
"Control Your Diabetes. For Life". campaign messages and materials help people with diabetes understand the importance of controlling their ABCs -- as measured by the A1C test, Blood pressure, and Cholesterol.
The A1C test measures a person's average blood glucose level over the past three months. High BLOOD PRESSURE makes a person's heart work too hard. Too much bad CHOLESTEROL, or LDL, builds up and clogs a person's arteries. People with diabetes need to ask their health care team what their ABC numbers are, what they should be, and how to reach their goal !
Free educational materials include:
- "4 Steps to Control Your Diabetes. For Life.", a brochure to help people with diabetes manage their disease;
- "Take Care of Your Heart. Manage Your Diabetes", a tip sheet about the link between diabetes and heart disease and tips on how to manage the ABCs of diabetes;
- "Guiding Principles for Diabetes Care", a guide to help health care professionals learn more about essential components of diabetes care;
- "Diabetes Numbers At-a-Glance", a handy laminated pocket guide with a list of current recommendations for health care professionals to diagnose and manage diabetes.
Other free resources are available too. There is no reason why people who have both diabetes and heart disease need to be ignorant of their disease or how to treat it. Their life depends on it.
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