Recent research findings suggest that diabetics who experience very low blood sugar levels may also be at higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Severe hypoglycemia or abnormally low blood sugar level is classified as a medical emergency. It becomes a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes.
Previous observational studies have already found a link between severe hypoglycemia and cardiovascular disease risk. But the association was far from being definitive. Because of this, researchers from the US, Japan and the Netherlands conducted the first systematic review of diabetes and increased cardiovascular risk in order to evaluate the association further. The team of researchers analyzed the results of six studies that consisted of 903,510 participants with diabetes. Important patient information were taken, including gender, age, BMI, diabetes history, history of heart disease, insulin use and smoking status. The participants were also followed up from one to five years after the initial study.
When the data was analyzed, the researchers found that 0.6 to 5.8 percent of the total participants experienced severe hypoglycemia during the one to five years of follow up. Overall, this only added 1.56 percent to the total risk of developing cardiovascular disease for the total number of participants. But the link was found to be consistent with all the studies.
The researchers also added that the results taken suggest that severe hypoglycemia is associated with a two-fold increase of heart disease risk. The researchers further suggest that using glucose lowering agents with a lower tendency of inducing hypoglycemia in people with type 2 diabetes will also be significant in preventing increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Source: Sciencedaily
Tags: abnormal blood sugar levels, cardiovascular disease, Diabetes News, heart disease, low blood sugar levels, type 2 diabetes