‘Strokes and heart attacks to soar as diabetes takes toll’
HEART attacks and strokes are set to soar over the coming years as the diabetes epidemic sweeping the nation takes its toll, a charity has warned.
The growing number of people with diabetes could trigger a 29% rise in the number of heart attacks and strokes linked to the condition by 2035, the British Heart Foundation has predicted.
It warned that the rising tide of diabetes will have a significant impact on people suffering ill health related to the condition.
The charity has estimated that 39,000 people living with diabetes will suffer a heart attack in 2035, a rise of 9,000 compared with 2015.
Meanwhile, more than 50,000 people will have a stroke, a rise of 11,000, the charity said, adding that cases of angina and heart failure are also set to soar.
According to Diabetes UK, 191,000 people are living with diabetes. That represents 7.3% of the population aged 17 and over – the highest prevalence in the UK. About 90% of that number are
thought to suffer from type 2 diabetes, most commonly caused by excessive body weight and insufficient exercise, while about 10% suffer from type 1.
Diabetes UK says another 59,000 may suffer from type 2 diabetes in Wales, but are either unaware or have no confirmed diagnosis, with another 540,000 people at high risk of developing diabetes.
The charity said if current trends continue it is estimated 300,000 people in Wales will have diabetes by 2025. Diabetes costs the NHS in Wales approximately £500m a year, 10% of its annual budget – 80% of this is spent on managing complications, most of which could be prevented.
“Thanks to research we’ve made excellent progress in improving survival rates for heart attacks and strokes,” said BHF chief executive Simon Gillespie. “However, today’s figures point to an extremely worrying trend. People with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases and the expected surge in type 2 diabetes cases by 2035 could put thousands more people at risk of a deadly heart attack or stroke. We can only reverse this trend by taking bold action to tackle obesity and inactivity, especially amongst young people.
“This must include consideration of further regulatory action to reduce sugar and fat content in food, and to curb junk food advertising directed at young children. The food industry is not acting quickly enough to reformulate its products, despite mounting evidence of their impact on the nation’s health.
“We also need continued research that will enable us to better understand how diabetes leads to these deadly heart and circulatory conditions, and how we can stop it.”
Sarah Miles, 43, has been living with type 2 diabetes for five years and at age 38 she had a heart attack and cardiac arrest, and is now living with heart failure.
She said: “Living with diabetes is difficult, but to then have a heart attack was a total shock. The attack led to heart failure which has severely limited my quality of life. I’ve had to give up my nursing career, my social life and my family dynamic has totally changed forever.
“To think that these conditions are on the rise is extremely worrying, and people need to be aware of how they can prevent them in the first place.
“I was also surprised by how little my doctors knew about the connection between my diabetes and heart problems, which shows the real need for research into new treatments.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Growing rates of obesity, coupled with issues associated with an aging population mean that cases of type 2 diabetes are on the increase.
“We want people in Wales to have every possible chance to minimise their risk of developing diabetes and as part of this work we are currently refreshing our obesity strategy to ensure it delivers the best possible results.
“We have also published Diabetes and Heart Disease Delivery Plans which together set out our plans for improving services provided to patients who are living with these conditions.”