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Da Big Five

5 Big Risk Factors

No, this article does not describe the 2008 Chicago Bears new defensive front. Almost as powerful for diabetic patients, however, is the effect of five important health risk factors. The “Big 5” risk factors for complications of diabetes are elevated blood pressure, smoking, lack of blood sugar control, elevated cholesterol, and lack of daily aspirin use. Patients can substantially reduce the danger of developing diabetic complications if they understand the importance of the risk factors, and take steps to minimize them.

 

 

Although we tend to think of diabetic complications in terms of eye, wound, and kidney-related issues, in actuality, the bulk of complications related to diabetes are related to large blood vessel problems—in other words, the risk of heart attack, stroke, and peripheral artery complications.

 

Let’s look at “Da Big Five” in more detail:

1) Blood Pressure: The goal of less than 130/80 is difficult to attain—but can substantially reduce complications, especially if kidney disease is present.

2)Smoking cessation. Stopping smoking may have a greater benefit for survival than any other factor, and new medications give providers and patients even more tools than were previously available.

3)Blood sugar control. The hemoglobin A1c, a tool to monitor blood sugar control over the prior 3 months, is currently recommended to be < 7. New recommendations in 2009 will increase this to 8 due to concern about hypoglycemia, but keeping blood sugars under control is still extremely important.

4) Cholesterol reduction.  Another tough act to achieve is keeping the "bad  cholesterol", or LDL, under 100. However, newer and cheaper statin medications, plus diet and exercise, make this possible for nearly all diabetics.

5) Aspirin. For diabetic patients over the age of 40 who don't have an allergy or complication related to aspirin us, using at least an 81mg baby aspirin has been found to provide benefit.

Your FHSM provider is committed to helping you achieve success on all five of these guidelines. In the past, the number of diabetics who met the goal for all five has been low nationally.  Currently, within the FHSM healthcare system, 26% of diabetic patients have achieved "all 5", but we are striving to make this at least 30% for 2009.

So when your provider pulls out your scorecard for "Da Big Five", don't groan.  It may just save your life.

 

 

 

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