Advanced Carotid IMT screening is imperative for those with Diabetes!

Cardiovascular disease, (CVD), is the leading cause of death for the over 16 million diabetics in the United States!  According to the American Diabetes Association, up to 75% of those with diabetes will develop or already have some form of cardiovascular disease.

Diabetics have a predisposed risk for CVD, more so than non-diabetics because of the damage diabetes causes to the major arteries, including the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart, the coronary artery, and the carotid artery which supplies blood to the brain. This damage makes it easier for non-stable plaques to collect and intima-media lesions to form in the arterial walls, closing off blood supply. This will increase blood pressure, thus creating a very immediate and real risk of stroke and heart attack.

Risks to Women with Diabetes

Women are much more susceptible to vascular damage from diabetes than men. Diabetes is the only factor known to erase a pre-menopausal woman’s protection from heart disease. Diabetics who smoke, have lipid abnormalities, or have high blood pressure are even more vulnerable to vascular injury and atherosclerosis caused by diabetes.

The benefits of Heart Smart IMT testing for patients with Diabetes

Intima-media Thickness tests using HeartSmartIMTplus technology can bring into focus the extent of vascular damage and atherosclerosis in diabetic patients at the earliest stage of the disease. Once determined, the response of atherosclerosis to diabetes control, lipid therapy, blood pressure control, and the progress of interventions therapies can be monitored with regularly scheduled IMT measurements.