Your heart and diabetes

Having diabetes puts you at higher risk for a number of cardiovascular (heart and circulation system) problems. Because of this, your physician or primary health care provider may recommend that you:

• monitor cholesterol levels and take a "statin" medication (e.g., atorvastatin, lovastatin, rosuvastatin, simvastatin)
• be treated with heart medications called ACE inhibitors or ARBs (angiotensin II receptor blockers) to protect your kidneys
• take low-dose ASA daily if you have heart disease or are at high risk for heart disease – talk to your physician or primary health care provider to determine if ASA is right for you
• monitor your blood pressure and treat it if it is high (target levels for blood pressure are lower than for someone without diabetes)

What can you do to help control your blood pressure?

Consult your physician or primary health care provider about your "target" blood pressure. Monitor your blood pressure regularly as recommended by your health care team. You can use the Rexall Blood Pressure Kiosk or buy a monitor to use at home. The Rexall Blood Pressure Check card and online Rexall Blood Pressure Tracker will help you to have a clear picture of your blood pressure as it changes over time. If you discover that your blood pressure is higher than it should be, speak to your health care team. You may need to adopt some lifestyle changes (see below) or take a medication (or combination of medications) to help lower your blood pressure. Some things you can do to help control your blood pressure include:

• follow a low-fat, low-salt diet (such as the DASH diet)
• follow a recommended food guide (such as Canada’s Food Guide or the USDA’s MyPlate)
• use more whole-grain alternatives for carbohydrates
• participate in aerobic exercise regularly for at least 150 minutes per week
• engage in moderate resistance exercise twice a week
• keep a healthy body weight
• reduce the amount of alcohol that you drink to
• 2 drinks per day for women up to a maximum of 10 drinks* per week
• 3 drinks per day for men up to a maximum of 15 drinks* per week
• try to quit smoking
• manage stress

*1 drink = 10 g of alcohol, 341 mL of 5% alcohol beer, 43 mL of 40% alcohol spirits, or 142 mL of 12% alcohol wine