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Know Your Diabetes ABCs
Jul 27, 2019
The diabetes ABCs are Blood Glucose levels (A1c), Blood Pressure, and Cholesterol. Managing these 3 things when you have diabetes can be the difference in a heart attack or stroke and a healthy heart. It's not always easy to monitor these ABCs but with regular check-ups with your doctor, these can be checked and medications adjusted accordingly. The usual follow-up frequency, well this is how often my doctor wants to see me, is every 3 months if you have diabetes. This way your diabetes ABC levels won't get out of control and you can stave off heart problems down the road.
The goal for an under-control A1c level is under 7%. Everyone is different so your A1c number may be higher or lower than 7%. If you check your blood glucose levels, you know that they fluctuate day to day. An A1c level shows the average blood glucose levels over a 3 month period. This helps your doctor manage your diabetes better.
Blood pressure should be below 140/90, but constant elevated blood pressure can start to do damage to your heart and kidneys. Your heart has to work harder so the walls of your heart will start beefing up. This is not necessarily a good thing for your heart. Thick heart walls can start effecting the way your blood gets pushed around your body.
The third element is cholesterol. When your doctor tells you that your cholesterol is high, they are talking about the total cholesterol and the LDL levels. These are the bad ones. The HDL cholesterol is considered the good one that helps move the bad ones out of your body.