It’s Time for Hispanics To Take Diabetes To Heart!

In honor of National Diabetes Month, the Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons (ICPS) launched an important initiative, Take Diabetes to Heart!, to teach the more than two million Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S. with type 2 diabetes about their risk for heart disease — the leading cause of diabetes-related deaths. With more than one quarter of all Hispanic/Latino deaths due to diabetes-related complications, such as heart disease, education is critical to help reduce the risk of these potentially serious complications.

Obesity, a major risk factor for both type 2 diabetes and heart disease, is an increasing problem in the Hispanic/Latino community for both adults and children. In fact, underscoring the need for the educational Take Diabetes to Heart! program, recent predictions estimate that one in two Hispanic/Latino children born in the U.S. today is likely to develop diabetes, likely due in part to increasing obesity rates in the Hispanic/Latino community.

“As the nation’s largest organization of Hispanic/Latino physicians, we have a commitment to our community to help people understand the risks associated with uncontrolled diabetes and to lead healthier lives,” said Jaime Davidson, M.D., ICPS spokesperson and a clinical associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “With the Take Diabetes to Heart! program, our goal is to educate Hispanics/Latinos that type 2 diabetes can be managed, and give them the tools to do so.”

The Link Between Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease

Heart disease is one of the most serious complications of type 2 diabetes, causing 80 percent of all diabetes-related deaths. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to suffer from heart disease or stroke than people without the disease. Research indicates that the common link between these diseases is a condition called insulin resistance, which occurs when the body does not respond properly to its own natural insulin, a substance critical for blood sugar to enter the body’s cells and be converted into energy. Hispanics/Latinos are at greater risk for insulin resistance, thus increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

To learn more about type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, heart disease and how to aggressively manage the disease, and to receive a free Spanish cookbook containing diabetes-friendly recipes, please call toll-free 1-800-307-7113 or visit http://www.takediabetestoheart.com

“People with diabetes and their caregivers must take action by learning how to aggressively manage type 2 diabetes to help reduce the risk of very serious complications like heart disease,” said Dr. Davidson.