Type 2 Reducing heart failure risk?

lorib64

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I have type 2 diabetes. I just had a televisit with my dr today. My labs are normal. I take metformin and januvia. She said to keep things the same and come back in6 months. I feel fine.

I just saw an ad for a medication that is supposed to lower heart failure risk in people with type 2 diabetes.

What are some things I can do to help lower the risk of heart failure? I am overweight and have been working on losing weight.
 

Mike d

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The medication in question?
 

lorib64

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The ad was for Farxiga. I don’t plan on changing meds. I was just wondering if there is anything I can do to reduce heart failure risk.
 

Mike d

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Wouldn't go near it myself ... better ways to control / reduce weight
 

Pasha

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The ad was for Farxiga. I don’t plan on changing meds. I was just wondering if there is anything I can do to reduce heart failure risk.

Reduce weight,dont smoke and exercise daily, walking is great for body and mind. I have over 31 years of experience with heart troubles, heart attack, quadriple by pass surgery and a couple of ablation procedures to solve heart rate problems. FYI, I follow the LCHF WOE.
 

lorib64

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106
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Type 2
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Wouldn't go near it myself ... better ways to control / reduce weight

I should not have mentioned the ad in original post. It just got me to thinking what risk factors I have for heart failure. I don’t plan on taking a medication.
 
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LaoDan

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Go slow, like 1 pound per week. Cut calories slightly, add exercise
 
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DCUKMod

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@lorib64 - I have to say, I never quite feel comfortable when I'm told by a medic things are "fine". One man's fine is another's not great.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting you or anyone else's medics are trying to mislead, but personally, I like to hear my actual results, along with the "normal ranges", so that I can go away and educate myself and make my own judgement on "fine" or otherwise.

One thing I will say about the potential for heart failure, or indeed almost any other potential complication of living with diabetes is that if you are able to get your diabetes into a good place, and keep it there, your chances of developing complications, per se are limited just by those actions.

For me, if I can make an acceptable lifestyle adjustment, meaning I don't need to take a medication I'll make it. Of course, some lifestyle adjustments are neither palatable or sustainable, so lifestyle won't always be a solution.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having some pharmaceutical support to live well with a long term condition, but it's great to be taking those decisions in the light of some background knowledge.

Good luck with it all.
 

bulkbiker

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Type of diabetes
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I have type 2 diabetes. I just had a televisit with my dr today. My labs are normal. I take metformin and januvia. She said to keep things the same and come back in6 months. I feel fine.

I just saw an ad for a medication that is supposed to lower heart failure risk in people with type 2 diabetes.

What are some things I can do to help lower the risk of heart failure? I am overweight and have been working on losing weight.

If you are happy to share with us the results of your tests we may be able to give you some pointers.

Risk of heart disease is linked with control of diabetes so HbA1c levels etc could give us a clue where you are.
 

Daibell

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Hi. To reduce weight and hence risk of heart problems, you need to keep the carbs down as these are converted to body fat when in excess. Think Carbs and not Calories and keep them down.
 
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lorib64

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Messages
106
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)

lorib64

Well-Known Member
Messages
106
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
If you are happy to share with us the results of your tests we may be able to give you some pointers.

Risk of heart disease is linked with control of diabetes so HbA1c levels etc could give us a clue where you are.

Hgb A1C is 5.3%. I am not sure how to convert that

Fasting glucose is about 120 mg/dL 6.7 mmol (dawn phenomenon )

Before lunch around 90 mg/dL or 5 mmol

I don’t eat a lot of meat.

Long before I was dx type 2 I had an 11 lb baby (5 kg). They did a glucose tolerance test which was normal, but they think I had undetected gestational diabetes.

My mother and siblings are not overweight and have type 2 also.

I take metformin and januvia.

My lipids are within the normal ranges but triglyceride is 150 mg/dL which is right in the edge.
 

LaoDan

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Messages
993
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
The term “new normal “
Hgb A1C is 5.3%. I am not sure how to convert that

Fasting glucose is about 120 mg/dL 6.7 mmol (dawn phenomenon )

Before lunch around 90 mg/dL or 5 mmol

I don’t eat a lot of meat.

Long before I was dx type 2 I had an 11 lb baby (5 kg). They did a glucose tolerance test which was normal, but they think I had undetected gestational diabetes.

My mother and siblings are not overweight and have type 2 also.

I take metformin and januvia.

My lipids are within the normal ranges but triglyceride is 150 mg/dL which is right in the edge.
Great A1c number, how’s your blood pressure? I have a similar A1c, but im on a ace 2 inhibitor. I was on two BP medications just after diagnosis. I was able to drop one, and reduce the dosage on the other
 

lorib64

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Messages
106
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Great A1c number, how’s your blood pressure? I have a similar A1c, but im on a ace 2 inhibitor. I was on two BP medications just after diagnosis. I was able to drop one, and reduce the dosage on the other
That is wonderful. My blood pressure is erratic. It is usually on the high end of normal. Around 120/80 but sometimes it goes higher. My resting pulse is around 80 but it can go over 100 at times
 

NicoleC1971

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3,451
Type of diabetes
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I have type 2 diabetes. I just had a televisit with my dr today. My labs are normal. I take metformin and januvia. She said to keep things the same and come back in6 months. I feel fine.

I just saw an ad for a medication that is supposed to lower heart failure risk in people with type 2 diabetes.

What are some things I can do to help lower the risk of heart failure? I am overweight and have been working on losing weight.
I love your rainbow btw!
Wise to be sceptical about meds and I think it is wrong that as as US citizen you're exposed to this marketing.
Your doctor says 'fine' but as you already know having insulin resistance leading to type 2 diabetes increases your risk. One thing you can do to know your actual risk is ask for a calcium scan (see Ivor Cummins /Fat Emperor as referred to in another post here) which will have a look to see inside your arteries as to the actual state of any heart disease rather than the proxy measures taken by the doctor such as lipid numbers.
Arterial disease is different to heart failure though and I think there responses here have been about the latter though improving your insulin sensitivity via low carb food and exercising muscles will help reduce your blood sugars and blood pressure and weight all of which will reduce your risk of both considerably.
If you wanted to read deeper Ben Bikman is an excellent research scientist who has written a great book around the topic: Why We Get Sick (and what to do about it). He is American too.
 
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Info from the Mayo clinic:-
Lifestyle changes you can make to help prevent heart failure include:


Mu mum had heart failure when she died ( but pneumonia was listed on her death certificate) she never smoked, non diabetic and worked part time as a nurse and cooked mainly from scratch, but she was a little over weight.
 

Oldvatr

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Type of diabetes
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There are several different flavors of heart failure and they have different ways for control and reduction.

For some, it is valve problems, or timing problems and sometimes needs a pacemaker fitted, and generally requires reduction in BP. This is a physical problem and may require an artificial valve being fitted.

Another form is where calcification of the arteries reducing blood flow into or out of the heart. This one can sometimes require bypass surgery or fitting of stents. Avoidance requires taking steps to reduce the arteries furring up in the first place and carb reduction is probably worth considering.

Another form is where the heart muscle is weak. Not sure how to prevent this, but it is usually the one that comes with old age. Exercise probably works for this one.

Generally, it is good to reduce BP, exercise aerobically if you can, eat healthily, and keep blood sugar levels under control. The usual NHS advice is to go Low Fat, High Carb, but that is probably not a good strategy in light of recent scientific studies that demonstrated that lo fat diets do not actually protect. and hi carb can ruin blood sugar control. I follow Dr Aseeem Malhotra who is a well-known Cardiologist at Surrey Hospital and he uses a diet called the Pioppi diet named after the Mediterranean town that had the lowest heart disease in Europe, It is a Low Carb diet and I try to use it myself. My problem is the physical plumbing and switching variant and I have been replumbed but not yet rewired.