Dr. Ahmad Shahzad
Founder | Lyallpur Diabetes Foundation
Consultant Diabetologist | Educator | Advocate for Preventive Care

Paralysis refers to severe illnesses which result in loss of muscles in any or all parts of the body. It arises when the linking of the brain and the muscles are impaired by nerve damage, spinal cord injury or neurodegenerative diseases. Understanding the different types of paralysis—from monoplegia affecting a single limb to quadriplegia involving the entire body—is essential for recognizing symptoms and seeking timely treatment. This article will discuss the primary types, causes, and the existing therapies to assist in creating awareness and assistance to help those affected.

What Is Paralysis?

Paralysis is the inability of a section of your body to use its muscles due to an issue with the nerve messages that connect your brain and your muscles. It may be transient or permanent and may affect any part of the body.

Main Types of Paralysis 

The most common forms of paralysis are classified according to the affected area of the body or the effect on muscle tone. 

Types by affected body part

• Monoplegia: It involves only one limb, e.g. one arm or one leg.
• Hemiplegia: This occurs in an arm and a leg that are on the same side and can as well affect the face. Stroke often leads to hemiplegia.
• Paraplegia: It is one that involves both legs and in some cases the torso. It is normally due to a spinal cord injury at the thoracic area, lumbar or sacral.
• Quadriplegia (or Tetraplegia): This refers to any loss of movement in all 4 limbs (both arms and both legs) as well as in the torso. It is brought about by a high injury of the spinal cord, normally the neck.
• Diplegia: This affects the same side of the body on both sides, like both legs or both sides of the face.
• Locked-in syndrome: This is a very rare disorder, which an individual loses all of his or her muscles except those controlling eye movement. 

Types by muscle tone

• Flaccid paralysis: Muscles are weak and limp as they can even slump. This occurs when nerves that trigger the muscles are killed. Flaccid paralysis was a typical symptom of polio.
• Spastic paralysis: The involuntary jerks or spasms cause tightening and stiffness of the muscles. It is a result of the destruction of upper motor neurons which relay brain signals to spinal cord. Cerebral palsy is known to cause spastic paralysis.

Causes of Different Types of Paralysis

Different forms of paralysis are as a result of damage to the nervous system which impairs the ability to communicate between the brain, the spinal cord and the muscles. The nature and location of this damage can define the areas of the body that are impacted and the response of the muscles. 

The causes of different types of paralysis vary depending on which type is involved:

• Monoplegia: This is usually due to cerebral palsy, brain, spinal cord, or limb injury or trauma. Others are stroke, tumor, inflammation of the nerve, neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, single-limb motor neuron disease.
• Hemiplegia: It is typically due to brain injury or spinal cord injury (cerebrovascular accident), transient ischemic attacks, intracranial hemorrhage, brain trauma, brain tumor, cerebral palsy, encephalitis, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases of the nervous system.
• Paraplegia: This is typically caused by either a spinal cord injury or disease of the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral portion. The causes are spinal cord trauma, tumors, infections, multiple sclerosis, lupus myelopathy, congenital malformations such as spina bifida, metabolic disorders, and cerebral palsy.
• Quadriplegia (tetraplegia): The greatest cause is neck region spinal cord injury, trauma to the brain, nontraumatic brain damage, muscular dystrophies, stroke, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord or brain pathology.
• Diplegia: It is frequently linked with brain damage or cerebral palsy before, during or soon after birth. Genetic predispositions, maternal infections, toxin exposure; perinatal/postnatal causes such as oxygen deprivation, meningitis, traumatic brain injuries, and vascular disorders affecting brain regions that perform motor control.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

The symptoms of paralysis may include the inability to move a limb to the absence of muscle control. Symptoms may be immediate, as with a stroke or spinal injury or may develop over time with such conditions as multiple sclerosis. 

Primary symptoms

• Weakness of muscles: This is the most prevalent symptom. It may be total paralysis of the stricken part or partial paralysis, which is paresis.
• Changes in sensation: A lot of individuals who have paralysis lose sensation in part or all of the injured part.
• Abnormal muscle tone: This depends on the type of paralysis.
  • Flaccid paralysis: Causes muscles to become weak and limp.
  • Spastic paralysis: Causes muscles to become tight, stiff, and prone to involuntary jerks or spasms. 

Associated symptoms

• Numbness or tingling in the limbs
• Muscle cramps
• Changes in sexual function
• Loss of bowel or bladder control
• Difficulty with balance or walking
• Trouble breathing, speaking, or swallowing, especially with high spinal cord injuries
• Pain or a stinging sensation caused by nerve damage

Diagnosis of paralysis

Diagnosis of paralysis is done by firstly confirming that the muscle control is lost and then finding the cause and the extent of the problem. 

Initial evaluation

• Physical examination: A medical professional will conduct a complete neurological check-up, which involves determination of muscle strength, muscles, reflexes, tone, and sensation.
• Medical history: The doctor will enquire as to when the symptoms started, when the injuries were suffered, or the medical conditions that might be involved. 

Diagnostic tests

• X-ray: Utilised to detect fractured bones or any other skeletal conditions that may be leading to nerve damage.
• Imaging scan (CT and MRI): This will give out-of-depth images of the brain, the spinal cord, and adjacent tissues. They can show symptoms of a stroke, a spinal cord injury, or other nerve damage.
• Myelogram: Refers to a procedure where a special dye is injected into the spine column to identify the spinal cord and nerves on X-ray, CT or MRI.
• Electromyogram (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Study (NCS): This is the test of electrical activity of nerves and muscles. They are able to assist a physician in deciding whether the problem is a muscle problem or nerve injury.
• Spinal tap (lumbar puncture): A cerebrospinal fluid is taken and examined to avert any infection, inflammation, or ailment such as multiple sclerosis.
• Blood tests: Could be performed to seek signs of inflammation or infections; other underlying conditions.

Treatment and Rehabilitation

The aim of treatment and rehabilitation of paralysis includes the maximum residual functioning, avoidance, and quality of life. Complete paralysis is incurable nowadays, although therapies that encourage recovery and adaptation have helped many.

Treatment Approaches

• Physical therapy is designed to enhance muscle strength, range of motion and mobility using specific exercises. It also assists in muscle length and joint performance to avoid contractures and stiffness. Neuroplasticity or the capacity of the nervous system to rewire and adapt is promoted by task specific and repetitive exercises.
• Occupational therapy aims at assisting one to feel independent in daily life activities like dressing, eating, grooming, and work. Therapists instruct adaptive skills, prescribe assistive aids and joint protective measures.
• Drugs can be taken to treat either spasticity or pain, or inflammation of the muscles due to paralysis.
• In other instances, surgery such as nerve repair, nerve transfer, or amputation can be taken into consideration depending on the cause of paralysis and its severity.
• New treatment methods are stem cell therapy to repair the damaged nerve tissue and epidural electrical stimulation to aid recovery of voluntary motion below the level of injury. Brain-computer interfaces and robotics are also potential technologies being developed.

You may also like to read: Cardiometabolic Disease

Rehabilitation Focus

The rehabilitation programs focus on neuroplasticity with intensive training and exercise of the injured muscles and nerves, which can restore some motor control even many years post-injury.

• Physical therapies can be enhanced by using mental practice, electrical stimulation, and other measures such as acupuncture.
• Social and emotional support should be discussed to overcome the psychological effects and promote active involvement in recovery.

On the whole, the treatment plans are multidisciplinary and individualized, involving physical and occupational therapy, medical therapy, and the latest technologies in order to maximize the results of people with various forms of paralysis.

Bottom Line

In conclusion, paralysis can take many forms, each varying in severity, cause, and impact on daily life. By understanding the different types of paralysis, individuals and caregivers can better recognize symptoms, seek early medical help, and explore effective treatment options. Although in some cases it is permanent, technology, rehabilitation, and progress in therapy have been made to enhance mobility and quality of life giving hope and independence to the living case of paralysis.

FAQs

What is the difference between flaccid and placid?

A flaccid cell is one placed in an isotonic solution, where no net inflow or efflux of water into or out of the cell takes place. A plasmolysed cell on the other hand is a situation where a plant cell is exposed to a hypertonic solution and the cell membrane drags away the cell wall as the water is lost.

What is a placid person like?

Developed out of the Latin placidus meaning pleasing or gentle, placid is most often applied to someone not readily irritated or of water like a lake that lacks waves to cause ripples. In both senses, placid is a synonym of calm, serene and tranquil.

Can a person recover from paralysis?

A full recovery can be possible within a short period in case of mild strokes whereas the patient can be left paralyzed or die in case of the severe strokes. Location of the Stroke: This is of great significance in the process of recovery.

What is paralysis in medical terms?

(puh-RA-lih-sis) Loss of ability to move all or part of the body.

Can high BP cause paralysis?

A stroke affects your thinking, movement, and functioning since the brain takes control of these. Stroke may result in brain damage, paralysis or even death unless immediate treatment is administered. According to neurologists, the greatest risk of stroke is high blood pressure.

Dr. Ahmad Shahzad
Founder | Lyallpur Diabetes Foundation
Consultant Diabetologist | Educator | Advocate for Preventive Care

Cardiometabolic disease is a group of related health conditions that impact the heart and metabolism (type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease). All of these conditions severely risk life-threatening events like heart attacks and strokes, making cardiometabolic disease one of the most significant health concerns in the world today. With the increasing number of sedentary lifestyles, poor diets, and the increasing levels of stress, the list of affected individuals is increasing. It is important to know what cardiometabolic disease is, why it develops, and how to prevent it to ensure long-term health and decrease the burden of chronic disease.

What Is Cardiometabolic Disease?

Cardiometabolic disease is a group of interconnected health conditions that elevate the risk of more severe cardiovascular problems, such as heart attack and stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Metabolic dysfunction, especially insulin resistance, tends to drive these conditions. 

What Conditions Fall Under Cardiometabolic Disease?

Cardiometabolic disease is a family of interrelated diseases occurring as a result of metabolic and cardiovascular problems. The best known conditions are: 

• Cardiovascular disease: A wide term to denote diseases of the heart and blood vessels. They are coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke.
• Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes: High sugar levels in the body because of insulin resistance, when cells in the body do not react to insulin properly.
• Chronic kidney disease (CKD): A disease in which the kidney performance fades slowly. It is often combined with diabetes and hypertension, and exacerbate other cardiometabolic disorders.
• Metabolic syndrome: It is diagnosed when an individual has three or more of the following:
  • Abdominal obesity: Excess fat around the waist.
  • High triglycerides: A type of fat found in the blood.
  • Low “good” HDL cholesterol: A type of cholesterol that helps remove other forms of cholesterol from your bloodstream.
  • High blood pressure (hypertension): Persistently high force of blood against the artery walls.
  • High blood sugar: A precursor to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): This condition is associated with fat accumulation in the liver and is not linked to excessive alcohol consumption.
• Obesity: Obesity (particularly central/abdominal) is regarded as a major cause of numerous other cardiometabolic disorders.
• Dyslipidemia: Lack of balance of lipids (fats) in the blood such as high triglycerides as well as high bad (LDL) cholesterol. 

The occurrence of one or more of these conditions can elevate the risk of others and cause a more serious outcome, which is why all these risk factors should be managed.

What Causes Cardiometabolic Disease?

A complicated combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental agents causes cardiometabolic disease, which results in metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance is a central factor. Key contributors include: 

Genetic and biological factors

• Genetic predisposition: A family history substantially risk of development of cardiometabolic disorders such as obesity, insulin resistance, and hypertension.
• Insulin resistance: This is a symptom of the cardiometabolic disease; the body cells are unresponsive to insulin. Body fat, especially the abdominal fat, is a significant cause of insulin resistance.
• Chronic inflammation: A state of inflammation in the body caused by too much fat tissue contributes to insulin resistance and damages the walls of blood vessels.
• Hormonal changes: The synthesis of hormones involved in metabolism in the body, such as leptin and adiponectin, may also be affected, which also adds to insulin resistance.
• Dyslipidemia: Abnormal blood lipids, like elevated triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, predispose. 

Lifestyle and environmental factors

• Poor diet: Diets rich in calories, saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and sodium, and low in fruits and vegetables, contribute to the growth of obesity and insulin resistance.
• Physical inactivity: An inactive lifestyle is a major risk factor, because exercise can positively impact insulin sensitivity and other cardiometabolic risk factors.
• Obesity: Excess body fat, particularly abdominal, is a significant source of cardiometabolic risk factors such as insulin resistance, hypertension, and inflammation.
• Stress: Systemic inflammation and cardiometabolic disease can be promoted by chronic psychosocial stress and toxic environmental stress, such as air pollution.
• Sleep patterns: Abnormal sleep duration, including less than 7 hours or over 9 hours of sleep per night, has been associated with high rate of cardiometabolic illnesses.
• Tobacco and alcohol use: Smoking and heavy drinking can elevate blood pressure and cholesterol, thereby risking the development of cardiometabolic complications. 

Interconnections

The personal risk factors tend to interact in a compounding response that enhances the risk. As an example, obesity may cause insulin resistance, which in turn may cause high blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol, culminating in the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Signs and Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore

Cardiometabolic disease is a group of metabolic diseases that predispose to heart attack and stroke. The symptoms and signs of a cardiometabolic disease are usually associated with metabolic and cardiovascular abnormalities.

Common Signs and Symptoms

• Hypertension (usually more than 130/80 mmHg)
• High blood sugar level (100 mg/dL and over)
• Higher waist circumference (apple-shaped; over 40 inches in men, over 35 in women)
• Abnormal cholesterol levels: high triglycerides (>150mg/dL), low HDL cholesterol (<40mg/dLin men, <50mg/dLin women)
• Impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance can lead to thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, and blurred vision.
• Angina or other cardiovascular disease-related chest pain or discomfort.
• Heart dysfunction can cause shortness of breath and fatigue.
• Narrowed blood vessels cause pain, numbness, weakness, or coldness in limbs.
• Symptoms indicating abnormal heart rhythm, like palpitations, dizziness or fainting.
• Alterations in urine production and inflammatory stress indicators.

Main risk factors

Several lifestyle and biological factors can increase a person’s risk for cardiometabolic disease: 

• Unhealthy diet
• Physical inactivity
• Obesity
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Smoking
• Family history and genetics
• Increasing age

Prevention and treatment

Prevention and management may include active lifestyle changes: 

• Dietary supplementation: Emphasizing nutritious food and portions.
• Increasing exercise: Exercising regularly may help manage weight and sugar levels.
• Weight loss: Weight loss, even in small amounts, can be of great health benefit.
• Drugs: Prescription medications are possible to regulate blood pressure, cholesterol, or sugar levels.
• Avoiding alcoholism and cigarette use.
• Managing stress. 

It is important to identify the risk factors at the initial stages to minimize the possibility of developing severe complications.

You may also like to read: Link between Diabetes and Heart Disease

Treatment and Management Options

Cardiometabolic disease is treated and managed to decrease risk factors and stop cardiovascular events by lifestyle changes, pharmaceuticals, and occasionally surgery.

Lifestyle Interventions

• Physical exercise: Moderate exercise taken regularly enhances insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and lipid profiles.
• Weight control: Dietary and physical weight loss may lower cardiometabolic risk to a great extent.
• Diet: A heart-healthy diet eliminates saturated fats, trans fats, salt, and sugars, and includes abundant fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
• Cessation of smoking and alcohol moderation are essential in lowering general cardiovascular risk.

Pharmacological Treatments

• Blood pressure management: ACE-inhibitor, ARB, beta-blocker and diuretic antihypertensive drugs.
• Lipid control: Statins and other lipid-lowering medications to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
• Glycemic regulation: Metformin, SGLT-2, and GLP-1 receptor agonist antidiabetic drugs are used to regulate blood sugar and minimize cardiovascular risks.
• Drugs can also treat prothrombotic conditions and inflammation related to cardiometabolic disease.

Surgical and Procedural Interventions

• In selected cases with severe obesity, bariatric surgery may be considered.
• Revascularization procedures may be necessary for advanced coronary artery disease.

Ongoing Monitoring and Risk Factor Management

• Periodic blood pressure, blood sugar, lipid, and waist circumference measurements.
• Treating other conditions like sleep apnea, stress, and mental health can also enhance the results.
• Individualized strategies that incorporate patient preferences and comorbidities promote efficacy.

Treatment involves a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates lifestyle change, medications, and occasionally surgery in order to reduce cardiovascular risk and enhance metabolic health.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, cardiometabolic disease represents a growing global health concern, but it is largely preventable with the right approach. A balanced diet, physical activity, healthy weight, and regular health checks all help people dramatically decrease the risk. Prevention of severe complications depends on early diagnosis and proactive treatment of diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. The current understanding of cardiometabolic disease is paramount to protect the health of the heart and enhance overall well-being in the future.

FAQs

What are the top 3 metabolic diseases?

Metabolic syndrome is set of disorders that pose the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. These are high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess fat around the waist and high cholesterol or triglyceride levels.

What part of the body does cardiometabolic disease affect?

Cardiometabolic diseases refer to a range of prevalent yet frequently preventable diseases such as heart attack, stroke, diabetes, insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The number of people who experience one or more of these conditions in their lifetime is on the rise across the globe.

Is hypertension a cardiometabolic disease?

The components of the cardiometabolic syndrome include insulin resistance/hyperinsulinemia, central obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, microalbuminuria, increased inflammation, and oxidative stress.

Dr. Ahmad Shahzad
Founder | Lyallpur Diabetes Foundation
Consultant Diabetologist | Educator | Advocate for Preventive Care

Two of the most prevalent issues in the world are diabetes and heart disease, and studies indicate that the two are inter-related. High blood sugar, insulin resistance, and other diseases such as high blood pressure and obesity predispose people with diabetes to cardiovascular issues. The connection between diabetes and heart disease is crucial in the prevention and early detection and management of the two diseases.

Understanding Diabetes and Heart Disease

The connection between diabetes and heart disease

Continued elevated blood sugar (glucose) with time may damage your blood vessels and nerves that operate your heart. Such damage is a contributor to several heart issues:

·       Atherosclerosis: High blood glucose enhances the deposition of fats within the artery walls a condition referred to as atherosclerosis. This constricts the arteries and decreases the circulation of oxygen-laden blood that may cause a heart attack.

·       High blood pressure: Due to the hardening of arteries by plaque, the heart must work harder, which elevates blood pressure. This additional tension also ruins the blood vessels and poses more risk of cardiovascular occurrences.

·       Bogus cholesterol: Type 2 diabetes comes with bad cholesterol, namely, high triglycerides, high LDL (bad cholesterol), and low HDL (good cholesterol). This mixture increases the rate in which arteries are blocked with plaque.

·       Heart failure: Diabetes predisposes one to heart failure, a condition in which the heart loses its ability to pump blood. This may cause the accumulation of fluids in the lungs and the swelling of the legs.

Shared Risk Factors between Diabetes and Heart Disease

Diabetes and heart disease are closely linked by a set of shared risk factors, suggesting a “common soil” from which both conditions can develop. These factors accelerate the development of vascular damage and inflammation, increasing the risk of serious health problems. 

Metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a group of disorders that are often comorbid and elevated risks of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Key components include:

• Abdominal obesity: Fat around the waist is a significant risk factor and facilitates insulin resistance through the release of inflammatory chemicals.
• High blood pressure (Hypertension): The high blood pressure ruins the arteries and overworks the heart. The CDC reports that when the blood pressure and diabetes work together, the risks of heart disease are high.
• Ab normal cholesterol (Dyslipidemia): High triglycerides, high LDL (bad) cholesterol, and low HDL (good) cholesterol. This profile is typical of individuals who are insulin resistant and hastens the formation of plaque in the arteries.
• High blood sugar: Elevated blood glucose, even in prediabetes levels, can cause blood vessels and nerves damage in the long term. 

Insulin resistance

One of the key links between these conditions, in particular, type 2 diabetes and heart disease, is insulin resistance.

• It is a condition that is caused by the body cells failing to respond to insulin normally. It results in the pancreas producing more of the hormone to keep blood glucose normal.
• It may result in type 2 diabetes, but long before that, it may on its own cause high blood pressure, inflammation, and abnormal lipids, all of which damage the heart. 

Chronic inflammation

Hardening of the arteries that cause heart disease is now realized to have a major inflammatory factor known as atherosclerosis.

• Diabetes is an inflammatory condition, and sustained high blood sugar and excess body fat may result in an immune reaction that harms blood vessels.
• This grade of inflammation disrupts the ability of insulin, producing a feedback mechanism that increases both diabetes and cardiovascular risk. 

Lifestyle choices

Lifestyle behavior changes are very significant in the development and exacerbation of both conditions.

• Physical inactivity: Sedentary lifestyle is a direct cause of obesity, insulin resistance and poor heart health.
• Poor diet: Eating a diet rich in saturated fats, trans fats, sodium and sugar leads to obesity, hypertension and abnormal cholesterol levels.
• Obesity: Obesity, especially in the abdomen, is a potent cause of type 2 diabetes as well as heart disease.
• Smoking: Tobacco burns blood vessels, elevates the blood pressure, and poses a significant risk of heart disease and diabetes. 

Age, gender, and family history

Non-modifiable factors also increased risk.

• Age: Risk of both heart disease and diabetes is more when you are older.
• Family history: A family history of heart disease or diabetes puts you at risk.
• Gender: Women are at a relative risk of cardiovascular disease and death than men with diabetes.

Signs and Symptoms to Watch For

For individuals with diabetes, recognizing the signs of heart disease and related complications like heart attack and stroke is critically important because the symptoms can be atypical and less obvious. This is often due to a condition called autonomic neuropathy, or nerve damage, which can mask the typical chest pain associated with heart attacks. 

Atypical heart attack symptoms for people with diabetes

Although anyone may have a silent heart attack, they are more prevalent in diabetic patients. Note the following less noticeable signs:

• Pain of indigestion or heartburn-like: Pain in the stomach area that can be confused with a gastrointestinal condition.
• Abnormal or inexplicable fatigue: Intense or debilitating fatigue that restricts you in carrying out everyday tasks.
• Shortness of breath: Windedness with little to no exercise, or rest.
• Jaw, neck, back, or arm pain: Pain that radiates to the upper body, one of the significant signs of diabetes in women.
• Lightheadedness or dizziness: Faint or dizzy with or without a cold sweat.
• Nausea or vomiting: Falling ill in the stomach or vomiting. 

Symptoms of heart failure

Heart failure, where the heart can’t pump blood effectively, is a serious complication of diabetes. It can lead to a buildup of fluid in the body. Look for these signs: 

• Shortness of breath: This may occur during activity, at rest, or when lying flat.
• Swelling (edema): Swelling of the feet, ankles, and legs caused by fluid buildup.
• Fatigue: Feeling exhausted and run-down.
• Persistent cough or wheezing: Caused by fluid accumulating in the lungs. 

Signs of a stroke

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked, and it is a major risk for people with diabetes. The National Stroke Foundation recommends the acronym F.A.S.T. to remember the warning signs: 

• F—Face drooping: Is one side of the face numb or drooping? Is the person’s smile uneven?
• A—Arm weakness: Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
• S—Speech difficulty: Is the person’s speech slurred? Are they unable to speak or hard to understand?
• T—Time to get help: If you see any of these signs, even if they go away, call emergency services immediately. 

Act fast in an emergency

No matter how strong the symptoms are, when you or someone with diabetes experiences what may be signs of a heart attack or a stroke, call an ambulance. It is safer and faster to call an ambulance as first responders can be treated on their way to hospital.

Prevention and Management Strategies

These are just a few, brief, points of each prevention and management strategy:

• Eat well: Focus on whole and plant-based food and limit processed foods, excessive sugar, and saturated fat to manage the level of blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure.
• Exercise More: Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week to enhance insulin sensitivity, heart strengthening and weight control.
• Maintain a normal weight: Even a small loss of weight helps a lot by lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.
• First, stop smoking and moderate alcohol: Smoking and excessive use of alcohol harm the blood vessels and can greatly risk a heart attack, so it is essential to quit and reduce use.
• Learn to deal with stress: Relax or apply other healthy coping skills to reduce blood pressure and prevent bad habits that stress usually leads to.
• Focus on great sleep: 7 to 9 hours of great sleep each night can aid in normalizing blood pressure and causing inflammation.

Final Thoughts

The connection between diabetes and heart disease highlights the need for proactive care and healthier lifestyle choices. By managing blood sugar, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, and adopting daily habits that support heart health, individuals can lower their risk of serious complications. With early intervention and consistent medical guidance, it is possible to live well with diabetes while protecting long-term heart health.

You may also like to read: Benefits of Social Support for Diabetes Management

FAQs

How is the heart affected by diabetes?

Diabetes causes high blood glucose, which can harm your blood vessels and nerves that run your heart and blood vessels. In the long run, this damage may cause heart disease.

What is a diabetes silent heart attack?

However, these are not the typical symptoms of everyone. Indeed, others suffer what is known as a silent heart attack, that is, no symptoms whatsoever, mild symptoms or some unusual symptoms (not typically related to a heart attack).

How long can you live with heart disease and diabetes?

The numbers were even more alarming among the patients of younger age. A 40-year-old man with all three cardiometabolic conditions would have on average a 23-year lower life expectancy than a 40-year-old woman with the same conditions.

How to check heart blockage at home?

Home diagnosis of heart blockage is not possible because it involves tests such as ECG or cardiac catheterization. Nevertheless, at home, you can take care of your heart by measuring blood pressure and resting heart rate, noting such symptoms as chest pain or difficulty breathing, and noting how well you can perform such activities as a stair test. In case of alarming symptoms, it is important to visit a medical worker, who could diagnose and treat you properly.

Dr. Ahmad Shahzad
Founder | Lyallpur Diabetes Foundation
Consultant Diabetologist | Educator | Advocate for Preventive Care

Treatment of diabetes is not only a matter of drugs and changing lifestyle, but also an emotional and social support. Presence of family, friends or support groups can make a great difference in the way people handle daily difficulties. Social support has been shown to promote better emotional health, treatment adherence, and reduce stress, all of which led to better health outcomes and quality of life.

Understanding Social Support in Diabetes Management

Social support also has a profound effect, enhancing self-efficacy, emotional distress, and treatment and lifestyle change compliance, and ultimately improving glycemic control and quality of life. Family, friends, and health providers can offer emotional, informational, material support, which can shape coping strategies and offer practical support with daily activities, such as medication, diet, and exercise.

Types of social support

Various sources of support such as family, friends, peers, and health providers assist diabetes patients in various ways. Key categories include:

• Emotional support: Gives comfort, care, empathy, and feeling of vagueness and understanding. This may be particularly useful in addressing the psychological load and suffering from living with a chronic illness.
• Informational support: Involves providing advice, guidance, and information regarding treatment, management strategies and complications. This aids patients and their families to know about the condition and make informed choices.
• Tangible/Instrumental support: Provides tangible, practical assistance, including financial support, assistance in daily activities, or food preparation and appointments.
• Appraisal support: Gives positive feedback, confirmation to support positive health behaviors and beliefs in the patient.
• Peer support: Offered by fellow diabetics, this provides a different outlook of life and emotional support. Peer support groups may enhance motivation, normalization of experience and self-management skills.

Impact on diabetes management

Research has repeatedly indicated that proper social support will result in better health among diabetics:

• Improved self-care: Supported patients tend to be more compliant with self-management, which includes measuring blood glucose, eating, and exercise.
• Better glycemic control: The social support is associated with a reduction in HbA1c levels, meaning better long-term glycemic control. This is usually facilitated by better self-efficacy and emotional distress.
• Improved mental health: Higher social support implies less depression, anxiety and distress due to diabetes. This emotional stability aids in the fighting against feeling overwhelmed or upset by the needs of the condition.
• Higher self-efficacy: A social network can give a person a sense of confidence in his or her capability to do healthy self-care things so that he or she can manage relatively better. 

Practical Support in Daily Diabetes Care

Practical diabetes support is direct, physical interventions that assist in the daily management of diabetes. Practical support, unlike emotional support, is more focused on tasks that may be overwhelming, stressful, or hard to handle by themselves. This can greatly enhance the physical health of a person and the pressure of self-care.

Assisting with nutrition and meals

• Healthy meal planning: Volunteer to assist in planning weekly meals according to dietary recommendations suitable to diabetes, possibly balancing carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
• Cooking and preparing meals: Healthily preparing meals. This will turn the work into teamwork and not an isolating task.
• Grocery shopping: Shop with or on behalf of the person, assisting in choosing healthy food and reading food labels to check on salt, sugar and fat levels.
• Engaging the entire family: Have changes in a family-wide activity. Having meals that are friendly to diabetes can be helpful and help the person with diabetes to be consistent.

Supporting physical activity

• Taking exercise breaks: Make physical activity a family activity by walking together, taking a fitness class, or trying a new sport.
• Enjoyable activities: Assist the person to find things they enjoy doing, like gardening, swimming, or dancing to make physical exercise enjoyable and sustainable. 

Helping with medical care

• Medication management: In people who require reminders or struggle with medication taking, such practical assistance may involve the arrangement of pill boxes or minor prompts to adhere to prescriptions properly.
• Supply organization: Help gather, arrange and maintain a stock of required supplies, including blood glucose testing strips, lancets, and other supplies.
• Going to the appointments: Volunteer to take your loved one to doctor check-ups and eye check-ups. This will offer moral support and remind you of important medical information and its comprehension.
• Record keeping: Assist with monitoring of blood sugar levels, medications and symptoms, in case requested. This fact is priceless when visiting a doctor.

Responding to emergencies

• Identifying symptoms: Be able to identify the symptoms of low (hypoglycemia) and high (hyperglycemia) blood sugar. Hypoglycemia may be accompanied by symptoms such as shakiness, confusion and irritability.
• Emergency preparedness: Have sugary food and glucose pills ready to resolve hypoglycemia. Know how to seek help in case of an emergency that includes calling emergency services in case someone falls unconscious.
• Technological support: Support or check-in on technology, e.g. continuous glucose monitor (CGMs) that can alert when blood sugar is too low. 

Assisting with general tasks

• Foot care: Assistance with foot examination daily: Nerve damage and deficient circulation in the feet are typical diabetes complications. This includes searching for blisters, sores or cuts that might not be easily felt.
• Lessening stress: Volunteer to perform other chores or errands to relieve the mental burden. Stress has a bad effect on the blood sugar levels and creating a person with lesser burden is quite useful.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, the benefits of social support for diabetes management are profound, helping individuals stay motivated, reduce stress, and maintain healthier routines. By connecting with other relatives, friends, medical professionals, or community organizations, robust support networks allow coping with diabetes to be less cumbersome and more accessible. Forming these relationships does not only enhance physical health but also emotional strength, which provides improved outcomes in the long term.

FAQs

Why social support is important in diabetes care?

These studies provide evidence that psychological resilience of diabetic adults can be boosted by enhanced social support. Based on the current research results, such measures can be particularly useful in patients with diabetes distress.

What is the role of a social worker in diabetes management?

Diabetes Social Workers are part of the treatment team and assist the family to adapt to living with diabetes. In the case of a child with type 1 diabetes, periods of both parental and child distress and difficulty are normal. The Social Workers comprehend these emotions and happenings and can assist.

How can you support a person to manage their diabetes?

Allow them time in the day schedule to cope with diabetes-check blood sugar, make healthy food, take a walk.

What is the main goal of diabetes management?

Thus, the primary objective of diabetes care is to maintain normal blood glucose levels or a target range as much as possible.

Dr. Ahmad Shahzad
Founder | Lyallpur Diabetes Foundation
Consultant Diabetologist | Educator | Advocate for Preventive Care

Smoking is not just a lung killer but a killer of metabolism in the body. Metabolic health is the ability of the body to regulate blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure and fat distribution which are essential to long-term wellness. Smoking has a strong effect on metabolic health by causing insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Being aware of such effects would allow noting the necessity to quit smoking and make healthier lifestyle choices.

Understanding Metabolic Health

Metabolic health is the best process of your body to transform food into energy and internal harmony. Clinically it is often considered to be within a healthy range with five key markers without medication. A healthy metabolism means you have a lower risk of developing chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

How Smoking Affects the Body

Smoking is the primary cause of preventable illness and death, damaging almost every organ in the body. Tobacco smoke has over 7,000 chemicals and at least 70 of them are known to cause cancer. The toxicity is long and short-term and affects multiple body systems.

Respiratory system

• Lung damage: Tobacco smoke is extremely harmful to the airways and the small air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs where carbon dioxide takes the place of oxygen. This destruction begins immediately after you start smoking and only gets worse.
• Mucus and cilia damage: Smoking makes the cells that produce mucus in your lungs and airways increase in size and number, resulting in excess mucus. Meanwhile, it immobilizes and destroys the cilia, the hair-like projections that sweep out mucus and foreign bodies in your lungs. The outcome is chronic cough of the smoker and a higher chance of respiratory infection.
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): The leading condition is Chronic Bronchitis and emphysema upon smoking. These lung diseases are progressive and block the airflow resulting in shortness of breath, coughing and fatigue.
• Lung cancer: Tobacco smoke has chemicals that damage DNA, making cells grow abnormally result in cancer. In many cases, lung cancer is associated with smoking. 

Cardiovascular system

• Damaged blood vessels: Nicotine and other chemicals in cigarette smoke harm the lining of blood vessels making them thicker and narrower. This is known as atherosclerosis, and it elevates blood pressure making the heart work harder.
• Low oxygenation: Oxygen that is needed to transport oxygen to the heart, muscles, and other tissues is displaced by carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke in red blood cells. This may cause shortness of breath and a loss of physical strength.
• Blood clots: Smoking increases the stickiness of blood and its ability to clot, thereby obstructing blood flow to the brain and heart. This puts one at great risk of heart attack or stroke.
• Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD): PAD is caused by smoking, in which the arteries are narrowed, limiting the blood supply to the limbs. This may give rise to amputation in acute cases. 

Nervous system and addiction

• Nicotine dependence: Nicotine is a very addictive medication, and it works via the brain reward systems. It also releases endorphins such as dopamine and adrenaline which produce short-term pleasurable, alert and relaxation effects.
• Withdrawal symptoms: When nicotine has been used, the brain will demand more, and it will result in withdrawal symptoms including anxiety, irritation, and depression.
• Cognitive effects: Although nicotine may have a short-term effect on concentration, chronic smoking is linked to deterioration of cognitive capacity and dementia. 

Reproductive system

• Fertility issues: Smoking may impair the reproductive system of a woman, as well as influence her hormones, making childbearing more difficult. It can cause erectile dysfunction and lower the sperm quality in men.
• Pregnancy complications: Pregnancy smoking is associated with a higher risk of miscarriage, still birth, preterm delivery and low birth weight. 

Other health effects

• Cancer: Smoking is also a significant risk factor for numerous other types of cancer, such as the mouth, throat, kidney, liver, bladder, stomach, and pancreas.
• Oral health: Tar stains the teeth and coats the mouth and throat, causing tooth decay, gum disease, and loss of taste and smell.
• Skin and appearance: Smoking may make skin age too fast leading to wrinkles and sagging. It also leaves yellow, brown-colored stains in the nails and fingers.
• Crippled immune system: The immune system is weakened by the toxic chemicals in smoke, leaving smokers prone to infection and autoimmune diseases.
• Other diseases: Smoking predisposes other diseases, such as osteoporosis, cataracts, and Type 2 diabetes.

Notable point: There is no safe amount of tobacco smoking. But these adverse effects can be reversed by quitting smoking and health can dramatically improve with time. 

Benefits of Quitting Smoking for Metabolic Health

Smoking is a major cause of avoidable illness and fatality that damages almost all organs. There are over 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, and at least 70 are cancer-causing chemicals. The toxic impacts are acute and chronic and affect multiple body systems.

• Enhanced Insulin Sensitivity: Quitting Smoking improves insulin sensitivity much faster, and this decreases the chances of type 2 diabetes. This is despite no major changes in body weight or fat mass at the beginning.
• Fat Distribution Changes: Transiently increased central fat may occur after cessation of smoking but fat is then redistributed to other areas such as the thighs that are more metabolically benign.
• Lessens the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: Smokers are more prone to metabolic syndrome which is a high level of triglycerides, low levels of HDL cholesterol, and insulin resistance. The risks decrease with time as the person stops smoking.
• Improved Glucose Metabolism: Quitting results in enhanced hepatic glucose output and improved glucose uptake by muscles to aid improved carbohydrate metabolism.
• Lipid Profile Reduction: quit smoking decreases high triglycerides and raises HDL cholesterol, reducing cardiovascular risk.

You may also like to read: Role of Stress Management in Diabetes Prevention

Additional Considerations

• Quitting smoking leads to gaining weight because metabolism is slower, but the metabolic changes are more significant.
• The beneficial impact of smoking cessation on metabolism is more with the longer the period of cessation.
• Smoking elevates insulin-antagonistic hormones and fat metabolism leading to metabolic dysfunction- a process reversed by stopping.

Final Thoughts

The effect of smoking on metabolic health cannot be overlooked and is reported to be related to insulin resistance, diabetes, and increased cardiometabolic risks. Smoking cessation does not only enhance lung and heart functions but also increases metabolism. With the help of positive lifestyle changes and support, people can defend their long-term health and minimize the severe risks that smoking is causing.

FAQs

How much does smoking raise your metabolism?

Others are related to the action of nicotine on your body. Nicotine in cigarettes makes your metabolism faster. Nicotine enhances caloric burn by approximately between 7 and 15 percent at rest. Your body also can burn food slowly without cigarettes.

How does smoking affect bone metabolism?

The high concentration of glucocorticoid in smokers modulates bone metabolism and lowers bone mass directly by modifying the functions of osteoblast and osteoclast or indirectly by changing the gastrointestinal absorption and renal reabsorption of calcium.

Does smoking cause muscle loss?

These gaseous components of tobacco smoke migrate into the circulatory system and to the skeletal muscle tissues, which can impact their metabolism and protein disorders, which cause muscle damage. Long-term smoking can also lead to weight and muscle mass loss and atrophy of muscle fibers.

How many calories does smoking burn?

“You burn about 250 calories if you smoke a pack a day. So, when you quit and your metabolism slows down, your body has these extra calories it has to deal with, and many people gain weight.” Most people gain about two pounds during the first couple of weeks after quitting, Purcell says.

Dr. Ahmad Shahzad
Founder | Lyallpur Diabetes Foundation
Consultant Diabetologist | Educator | Advocate for Preventive Care

Stress management is not only a way to protect your mental health but also the key to avoiding such severe diseases as diabetes. Studies indicate that chronic stress may elevate blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and unhealthy lifestyle choices, which are all risk factors of type 2 diabetes. Realizing that stress is closely related to blood sugar, and managing stress can be learnt to achieve significant changes in maintaining good health and preventing diabetes.

Understanding the Connection Between Stress and Diabetes

Stress has physiological and behavioral influences on diabetes, and they may lead to elevated blood sugar levels, heightened insulin resistance, and more challenging self-management. Although it is not a direct cause of diabetes, chronic stress is a risk factor that can lead to type 2 diabetes.

The physiological connection

When you get stressed, your body goes through its fight-or-flight reaction and gives you a burst of energy in case of a perceived threat. This reaction is initiated by discharge of stress hormones, mostly cortisol and adrenaline.

The most important physiological effects are:

• More glucose production: Stress hormones get the liver to make more glucose and put it into the bloodstream to use as energy.
• Insulin resistance: Cortisol causes the cells in your body to become more resistant to insulin, or sugar, cannot get into the cells easily. This makes blood sugar levels soar among diabetic patients.
• Impaired insulin secretion: There is some evidence that stress hormones can directly suppress the production and secretion of insulin in the pancreas.

In non-diabetics, this glucose spike is transient. But in a person with diabetes, or at risk, this long-term dysregulation may impose challenges on the body to process the sugar in an effective way.

The behavioral connection

Stress may also exacerbate diabetes management by affecting how a person behaves. In times of stress one can:

• Have unhealthy behaviors, like emotional eating, eating high sugar comfort foods, drinking more alcohol, or smoking.
• Self-care, such as physical inactivity, irregular blood sugar levels or forgetfulness about medication.
• Undergo sleep disturbances, since stress may interfere with sleep patterns. Insomnia is associated with insulin resistance.

In people with diabetes, it may create a vicious cycle of stress with the effort necessary to cope with diabetes itself, which is also a cause of stress (so-called diabetes distress).

Does stress cause diabetes?

Although stress does not directly lead to diabetes, studies indicate that chronic stress is a risk factor of developing type 2 diabetes.

• Predisposition: In individuals with underlying risk factors, such as obesity or a family history of diabetes, stress hormones at elevated levels may gradually cause insulin resistance, which may ultimately result in the development of the disease.
• Even in non-diabetic individuals, moderate or intense acute elevations in blood sugar level can occur due to physical or psychological stress (such as during a critical illness or surgery), a phenomenon known as stress hyperglycemia. In other situations, this may reveal insulin issues that have not been diagnosed. Individuals with stress hyperglycemia are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes in future. 

How to manage stress to help control diabetes

Stress management is a critical component of diabetes management. Strategies that are effective will include:

• Exercise: Exercise is a known stress-lowering activity that also lowers blood sugar levels and increases insulin sensitivity.
• Relaxation methods: To reduce cortisol and relax the mind, incorporate deep breathing, yoga, meditation or mindfulness in your daily process.
• Get enough sleep: You should get 7-9 hours of good sleep each night. A normal bedtime schedule would help in sleep and stabilize the level of glucose.
• Healthy coping: Learn to find healthy coping responses to stress. Bad habits such as comfort eating and drinking should be avoided and instead done with things one likes.
• Get support: Discuss with family, friends or a diabetes support group. A mental health professional can be a great help in case stress or distress is overwhelming.
• Monitor your patterns: In the case of diabetes, trapping stress levels and blood glucose levels can help you determine your own triggers and the way to cope with them. 

Effective Stress Management Techniques for Diabetes Prevention

Adopting effective stress management techniques can significantly lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by reducing cortisol levels and improving lifestyle habits. The best approach is to incorporate a variety of mental and physical strategies into your daily routine. 

Mental and emotional strategies

• Be mindful and meditate. MBSR programs can enhance emotional and glycemic control. Giving yourself a few minutes a day to practice your breathing or employing a guided meditation app can help clutter your brain and trigger the relaxation response in the body.
• Take deep breathing exercises. To overcome a state of panic, you can use a simple form of deep breathing, inhale, four seconds, hold, seven seconds, exhale, eight seconds. This can calm your nervous body and reduce your heart rate.
• Visualize a calm place. When in a stressful situation, close your eyes and visualize a tranquil location, using all senses. This is a guided visualization, which may trigger serenity and relaxation.
• Reframe negative thoughts. Spotting negative thoughts may stop a negative spiral and enable you to concentrate on what you can control. As an example, instead of getting the thought, I cannot do this, rephrase it as, I will do this step by step.
• Your gratitude. Writing about good things can make you feel better overall and can help you start viewing your life through a different lens than stress. 

Lifestyle-based strategies

• Include physical exercise. One of the better stress relievers is exercise. It triggers endorphins, better moods, and can reduce blood glucose. Goal: 150 to 180 minutes of moderate aerobic work (such as brisk walking) in one week.
• Prioritize quality sleep. Sleep deprivation and chronic stress contribute to one another and may increase insulin resistance. Scheduling: keep a regular schedule of sleep and establish a worry-free sleepy routine to build better sleep.
• Eat wisely. Stress reduces good eating habits, and therefore underlines well-balanced, healthful meals. Do not use high fat and sugar comfort foods. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables are also good sources of fiber and can help control blood sugar.
• Set aside “me time.” Spending some time on something pleasurable like gardening or listening to music or reading helps a lot to eliminate stress and enhance relaxation.
• Limit your digital connection. Excessive use on social media may elevate stress, as well as divert attention in self-care. Create space to step out and get into the real world. 

Supportive strategies

• Lean on social support. Having friends and relatives is a buffer to stress. Talking to the vulnerable about how things go can make you feel less encumbered and more supported to make healthy lifestyle changes.
• Join a support group. Talking to other individuals with similar health issues can offer a feeling of community and helpful coping skills.
• Work on time management. In case you get stressed by commitments, get to know how to prioritize, say no to added commitments and delegate where you can. Stress can also be minimized by dividing large tasks into smaller ones that are more manageable.
• Seek professional guidance. In case stress appears overwhelming, a mental health expert will be helpful in offering meaningful coping mechanisms. CBT will allow you to alter your reactions to stressors. 

You may also like to read: Benefits of Physical Activity for Diabetes Prevention

Final Thoughts

To sum up, stress management is an effective and useful approach to lessening the risk of diabetes. Mindfulness, exercise, proper diets, and healthy habits can help individuals balance both mental and physical health. Having long-term blood sugar control and stress management as a priority, in addition to having a healthier lifestyle and well-being, are beneficial.

FAQs

How does stress affect diabetes?

When the stress does not disappear, it may increase your blood sugar level and predispose you to complications of diabetes. It can also influence your mood and your appearance self, and this can begin to influence your emotional health.

How does stress impact insulin resistance?

They discovered that the elevations of stress-induced levels of sympathetic activity, in the case of patients in psychological stress, affected insulin sensitivity, likely via alterations in adipokine or catecholamine circulation.

Which relaxation techniques lower blood sugar?

Activities and relaxation techniques, such as yoga and mindfulness-based stress reduction, can also be used to repair insulin release issues in individuals with chronic diabetes receiving medical care.

Is there a connection between anxiety and blood sugar?

Blood sugar and anxiety are correlated, and it is important that diabetic patients should know this. As you will see, one can easily cause the other.

Dr. Ahmad Shahzad
Founder | Lyallpur Diabetes Foundation
Consultant Diabetologist | Educator | Advocate for Preventive Care

One of the most effective methods of prevention of type 2 diabetes is regular physical activity. As the cases of cases increase globally, active lifestyles are more relevant than ever before. Exercise is not only beneficial in insulin sensitivity and sugar regulation but also weight management and health. Knowledge of the advantages of physical activity can enable one to make simple and daily steps that would go a long way to minimize the chances of becoming diabetic.

Understanding the Link Between Physical Activity and Diabetes

Exercise allows the prevention, delaying and management of diabetes through better utilization of insulin and glucose in the body. Although short-term impacts of exercise on glucose levels depend on the intensity and duration of the exercise, exercise overall leads to better glycemic control and minimized risks of diabetes.

How physical activity helps manage diabetes

• Increases insulin sensitivity: Exercise makes your muscle cells more sensitive to insulin up to 48 hours after a workout, and they can then use available insulin more efficiently to uptake glucose in your bloodstream.
• Incites insulin-independent uptake of glucose: Glucose absorption by contracting muscles during exercise can power the muscles without the aid of insulin. It is particularly useful with those with type 2 diabetes whose bodies are insulin resistant.
• Lowers A1C: Regular exercise has also been reported to reduce hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) which is a long-term level of blood glucose control. Research has discovered that different types of exercises such as aerobics, resistance, and combined training can greatly raise the value of HbA1c.
• Assists in weight management: Exercise assists in weight loss and healthy weight maintenance. Regular activity is an important aspect of both treatment and prevention as obesity is a significant risk factor of type 2 diabetes.
• Offers a cardiovascular-protective effect: Exercise benefits the heart of people with diabetes and can reduce blood pressure and positively influence the cholesterol level.
• Minimize sedentary time: Even short intervals of light exercise every 30 minutes can be used to disrupt sedentary times.

Effects of different types of exercise

Different kinds of physical activity provide unique benefits and can affect blood glucose levels differently.

Aerobic exercise

• Effect: Swings big muscle groups in continuous movement (e.g. walking, cycling, swimming). Such activity tends to reduce blood glucose.
• Recommendations: It is recommended that at least 150 minutes of moderate-vigorous aerobic exercise be performed during a week, but distributed over at least three days, with no more than two days together. 

Resistance training

• • Effect: Develops muscle size and strength through resistance (e.g., a weight, a resistance band or the body weight). Growth of muscle enhances insulin sensitivity and uptake of glucose.
• Recommendations: The ADA recommends that adults with diabetes perform two to three bouts of resistance exercise a week on non-consecutive days. 

Combined training

·       Effect: There is evidence that aerobic and resistance training may be more effective than either form of exercise in terms of glycemic control.

·       Recommendation: Do aerobic and resistance training to achieve maximum results.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT)

• Effect: Involves short bursts of intense activity followed by recovery periods. This can improve insulin sensitivity and glycemic control in a time-efficient manner for suitable individuals.
• Recommendation: Discuss with a healthcare provider before starting HIIT, especially if you have complications or are not accustomed to vigorous exercise. 

Precautions and considerations for exercise

• Risk of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose): Individuals with diabetes who take insulin or insulin secretagogues should be aware of the risk of hypoglycemia during and after exercise.
  • Test blood glucose before and after exercise to understand your body’s response.
  • Keep a source of fast-acting glucose on hand, such as glucose tablets or juice.
• Blood glucose variations: Stress hormones may result in a temporary increase of blood glucose in some high-intensity activities. The important part in this is to keep a check on your own trends.
• Complications of diabetes: Some complications, like retinopathy or neuropathy, can necessitate a modified exercise program. Safe and appropriate activities could be done with the assistance of a doctor.
• Time: In some individuals with type 2 diabetes, afternoon exercise or evening exercise may slightly improve the blood glucose level compared to morning exercise. Also, after meal exercise can help in controlling post meal blood sugar spikes.
• Professional guidance: A medical professional can assist in creating an individualized and safe exercise regime that takes into consideration your type of diabetes, fitness level, and other health factors.

Key Benefits of Physical Activity for Diabetes Prevention

Enhances insulin sensitivity

·       Enhances cellular performance: Exercise also sensitizes muscle cells to insulin, thus enabling them to obtain energy through the bloodstream effectively. This enhances the efficiency of insulin available to the body, and it prevents the occurrence of insulin resistance, which is a major cause of type 2 diabetes.

·       Favors independent glucose uptake: Exercise causes muscle contractions that enable cells to absorb glucose to produce energy without insulin, which aids maintaining a healthy level of blood sugar.

Aids in weight management

• Reduces body fat: Physical activity helps burn calories, which contributes to weight loss and maintenance. This is critical for diabetes prevention, as excess body weight, especially fat around the waist (visceral fat), is a major risk factor for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
• Builds muscle mass: Strength training builds muscle, which increases the body’s calorie-burning capacity, even at rest. This increased muscle mass also enhances the body’s ability to clear glucose from the bloodstream. 

Improves metabolic health

• Reduces blood sugar: Exercising lowers blood sugar levels because of elevated muscle glucose uptake, decreased insulin resistance, and decreased A1C levels.
• Decreased inflammation: Exercise can reduce chronic inflammation in the body, which is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes.
• Improves mitochondrial activity: Exercise enhances the formation of new mitochondria and increases their output, which increases metabolic fitness and mitigates metabolic dysfunction linked to insulin resistance. 

Provides cardiovascular benefits

Reduces blood pressure and cholesterol: Exercise will make the heart healthier, reduce blood pressure, raise the good HDL cholesterol, and reduce bad triglycerides. This minimizes the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases, which are known complications of diabetes.

Enhances mental well-being

• Lessens stress and anxiety: Exercise would raise stress, anxiety, and depression, all of which can influence blood sugar management.
• Better sleep and mood: Exercising can increase your confidence and mood and help you sleep better.

Importance of Healthy Eating for Metabolic Health

How to get started

The key is to begin slowly and find activities you enjoy ensuring consistency.

• Aerobic Exercise: Target at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise (e.g., brisk walking, swimming, cycling), and this should be taken for at least three days.
• Strength Training: Do resistance exercises with weights, resistance bands, or both at least once each week to all major muscle groups.
• Interrupt Sedentary Time: In non-active people, even simple steps, including rising and moving every 30 minutes, can play a significant role in controlling blood glucose.
• Consult a Professional: Before starting a new exercise program, seek the advice of a healthcare expert so that it fits your health condition.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, exercise is extremely important in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Regular exercise provides long-term prevention of this chronic condition by enhancing insulin sensitivity, blood sugar control, and maintaining a healthy body weight. It can be as simple as walking, cycling or strength training. One of the best steps toward prevention of diabetes and overall health is making physical activity a regular part of everyday living.

FAQs

What is the main benefit of exercise in diabetes management?

Physical activity is a critical treatment in diabetes mellitus. Exercise also decreases cardiovascular risk and mortality, manages weight, and improves glycemic control in people with this condition. An increase in tissue sensitivity to insulin will positively influence glycemic regulation.

How exercise is a method of controlling diabetes?

Exercise might assist you in dealing with your Type 2 diabetes or lower the chances of having one. A combination of aerobics and strength training exercise can help normalize blood sugar levels and health among individuals with Type 2 diabetes. Your workout plan will be different according to your health and objectives.

How much exercise is needed for diabetes?

Individuals with type 2 diabetes are advised to engage in at least 150 min/week of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity that should be done in at least 3 days of the week, but not more than 2 days in a row of aerobic activity.

What is the best time to exercise for diabetes?

Another benefit, which can assist in managing blood sugar, is taking an after-dinner walk as your daily exercise, or even on the day you do other exercises.

Dr. Ahmad Shahzad
Founder | Lyallpur Diabetes Foundation
Consultant Diabetologist | Educator | Advocate for Preventive Care

For many hopeful parents, seeing a positive pregnancy test brings joy and excitement. However, in some cases, the pregnancy ends very early, before it can be detected on an ultrasound. This is known as a chemical pregnancy. Though it may be brief, the experience can have both emotional and physical impacts. Understanding the causes, symptoms, and recovery process can help bring clarity during this difficult time.

What Is a Chemical Pregnancy?

A chemical pregnancy is a very early miscarriage in a pregnancy in which a positive pregnancy test is obtained because a growing embryo is producing human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), but the pregnancy is lost before the fifth week of gestation. This premature loss is usually confused with a late or missed one, or can result in mild effects such as spotting or cramping. The cause is often a chromosomal abnormality in the embryo, so that it cannot grow normally. 

What causes a chemical pregnancy?

The cause is usually not known, but the loss is normally caused by an issue with the developing embryo. Possible causes include: 

• Chromosomal abnormalities: This is most often due to a genetic problem with the embryo, making it fail to develop normally.
• Implantation issues: The embryo can fail to implant successfully on the uterine wall.
• Hormonal imbalances: Diseases of some hormones, including progesterone, can be a contributor.
• Other conditions: Thyroid disorders, abnormalities of the uterus, or some types of infections can also have a role to play.

Symptoms

Due to the early occurrence of a chemical pregnancy, some individuals can confuse it with a normal or late menstrual cycle. These may be observed in case you are actively attempting to conceive and are also on early pregnancy tests: 

• A positive test with a negative result a few days/weeks after.
• A time that comes a week or so later than planned.
• More menstrual bleeding or more severe menstrual cramps.
• A positive pregnancy test was received, and there were no signs of early pregnancy, including nausea or swelling of the breasts.

What to know about chemical pregnancies

• It is a real pregnancy: Although it is early, a chemical pregnancy is a real pregnancy, and it may bring loss and grief.
• Treatment is not necessary: The miscarriage normally corrects itself, and it does not need any medical intervention.
• Future pregnancies: A lot of individuals who undergo a chemical pregnancy proceed to develop healthy pregnancies in the future. And possessing one does not imply that you are having a fertility problem.
• It is normal: The occurrence of chemical pregnancies is quite normal, particularly when the highly sensitive early-detection tests are used. 

How Is a Chemical Pregnancy Diagnosed?

A chemical pregnancy is identified by a temporary increase and decrease of the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), via blood or urine. An important component of the diagnosis is that the pregnancy terminates before a gestational sac is visible on an ultrasound, which is normally visible by the fifth week of pregnancy. 

Steps for diagnosis

1. First positive pregnancy test: When you are attempting conception and do a sensitive early home pregnancy test, you may end up with a positive result immediately after the fertilized egg has implanted and is now generating hCG.
2. Negative test and bleeding: Once you have had a positive test, a negative test will soon follow, and your period will come within a month or a little late. The hemorrhage of a chemical pregnancy can be excessive.
3. Hormone level testing: To clinically confirm, a medical practitioner will take a blood sample to test your hCG level.
   1. Decreasing hCG: If your first blood test shows elevated hCG, the doctor will take another test a few days later. A chemical pregnancy is indicated if your hCG levels are decreasing instead of rising, as they would in a healthy, progressing pregnancy.
   2. Ultrasound: To differentiate a chemical pregnancy from a later miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy, an ultrasound may be performed. If no gestational sac or fetus is visible on the scan, it confirms the pregnancy did not progress beyond the chemical stage. 

Why medical confirmation is important

While a positive-then-negative home test result is a common indicator, medical confirmation is important for the following reasons:

• Excluding other conditions: Your physician can exclude a potentially severe ectopic pregnancy, where the fertilized egg implants extrauterine.
• Giving peace of mind: To the people actively attempting conception, a chemical pregnancy confirmation makes it feel more real and provides an answer to what occurred.
• Informing future care: HCG monitoring is a routine aspect of early pregnancy care in fertility patients who undergo IVF procedures, and can aid in future treatment decisions. 

Emotional Impact of Chemical Pregnancy

Chemical pregnancy can be extremely distressing, particularly in those couples who are actively pursuing pregnancy. The good news of being pregnant may immediately give hopes and dreams and a sudden loss may lead to sadness, confusion, and grief. The physical recovery may occur faster than the emotional recovery. 

Why the emotional toll is so high

• The birth of the dream: A positive test, even a weak one, can give the strongest emotions and visions of the future. The sudden termination of the pregnancy may be the loss of that dream.
• An actual loss: The term chemical pregnancy might be dismissiveness of the grief, and may not be regarded as a real miscarriage. However, in real life, a miscarriage is a miscarriage, and the feeling of grief is legitimate.
• Disenfranchised grief: Since other people are not aware of chemical pregnancies, grief may be isolated and lonely. This disenfranchised grief happens when the loss is not openly accepted or socially recognized, and the person might not easily grieve openly and get the support they need.
• Hormonal changes: A chemical pregnancy may abruptly cause a decrease in pregnancy levels of hormones such as hCG and progesterone, which in turn can lead to mood swings and irritability, exacerbating emotional pain.
• Guilt and self-blame: Most individuals attribute the loss to themselves; they feel they must have done something bad to make them lose, even when they are aware that they did not do anything.
• Fear of future pregnancies: This experience can cause anxiety and fear of subsequent pregnancies. It is hard to fully bond with a new pregnancy for many before they reach the mark of their loss. 

Treatment and Recovery After a Chemical Pregnancy

Mostly, a chemical pregnancy does not necessitate any medical treatment and can be left to pass. The physical recovery process is usually fast and only takes days or a week. But emotional recovery may be more prolonged and needs to be supported deliberately. 

Physical recovery

Most people who experience a chemical pregnancy do not have severe pain or heavy bleeding. The physical process is similar to a slightly heavier or late menstrual period. 

• Prognosis: The majority of symptoms improve after one week. After 4 to 7 days, an average hormone (hCG) level is normal.
• Symptoms: You can experience a period of two weeks of vaginal bleeding that is likely to be the same or a bit heavier than a regular period. Some cramping is also normal.
• Medical follow-up: A physician can prescribe a follow-up blood test to make sure the hCG is set at zero, which this to confirm the pregnancy is over, and to exclude other causes such as an ectopic pregnancy.
• See a doctor When: See a doctor immediately in case of severe pain, dizziness, or excessive bleeding (wet more than one pad in an hour). 

Emotional recovery

The emotional impact of a chemical pregnancy can be significant, and it is important to allow yourself time to grieve. 

• Accept the loss: Accept that you are truly grieving, that you are angry, confused, and disappointed by the loss.
• Find support: Find a friend, family member, or a counselor to talk to. You can also feel less isolated by joining a support group of people who have gone through miscarriage.
• Talk to your partner: There are two ways to go through grief. It is important to openly share your feelings and to respect each other’s coping styles so as to work through the loss together.
• Think of a ritual: Since chemical pregnancies are frequently not even visible to others, you can use creating a personal ritual to recognize the loss. This may involve planting a tree, jewellery, or a journal.
• Get easy on yourself: Learn to realize that it is not your fault. Allow yourself to experience your feelings without condemnation and have a work break. 

Trying to conceive again

A chemical pregnancy does not affect your future chances of having a healthy pregnancy. 

• Timing: Two weeks after a chemical pregnancy, you can ovulate and get pregnant again. Nevertheless, most doctors advise you to wait until after your next standard menstrual period, which makes it easier to date a new pregnancy. Finally, you should give a second attempt when you are physically and emotionally prepared.
• Lifestyle: Maintain a healthy lifestyle, including prenatal vitamins or folic acid, a healthy diet, physical activity, and avoidance of alcohol and tobacco.

Recurrent chemical pregnancies

If you experience two or more consecutive chemical pregnancies, your doctor may suggest further testing. 

• Diagnostic plans: A fertility specialist can order tests to check problems with hormonal imbalances, thyroid diseases, uterine defects, or chromosomes.
• Possible treatments: According to the diagnostic results, treatment might be hormone therapy, underlying medical causes, or surgical repair of uterine anomalies. Where nothing has been found, alternatives like In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) with genetic testing can be considered.

You may also like to read: Red Light Therapy

Preventing Chemical Pregnancy – Is It Possible?

Nothing can be done to stop a chemical pregnancy because most of them are beyond your influence, which could be a chromosomal abnormality. A large percentage of these extremely early miscarriages occur because of some accidental genetic mistake in the embryo that it from developing. This does not belong to the fault of either partner and is not a manifestation of the overall capacity of a person to have a healthy pregnancy. 

Although you cannot avert a random chromosomal occurrence, you can act to increase overall well-being and reduce risk factors that might lead to pregnancy complications. Such measures may tend to raise the likelihood of a healthy pregnancy, although they do not imply the absence of early loss.

Final Thoughts

A chemical pregnancy is a very early miscarriage that occurs within the first few weeks, often before an ultrasound can confirm a pregnancy. It normally occurs when a fertilized egg implants but aborts shortly afterwards. Although most individuals might confuse it with a late or heavy period, it is crucial to comprehend chemical pregnancy as a way of emotional healing as well as future family planning.

FAQs

Is a chemical pregnancy still a baby?

A chemical pregnancy (or biochemical pregnancy) is a very early miscarriage that occurs within the first five weeks of pregnancy before the pregnancy is visible in an ultrasound. A fetus develops and implants in the uterine wall, and then ceases growing.

Are you more fertile after chemical pregnancy?

Indeed, you might be more prolific after a chemical pregnancy: A study discovered that those who had attempted to conceive 3 months after a miscarriage were 17 percent more likely to be pregnant and have a living baby than those who waited longer.

How long will a chemical pregnancy last?

A chemical pregnancy is a very premature miscarriage that happens in the first five weeks. The majority of people are not even aware they are pregnant, and they might not even experience any effects of a miscarriage.

What hormone imbalance causes chemical pregnancy?

A woman can have a recurrent chemical pregnancy due to several reasons. A progesterone deficiency is one of the most frequent causes. Ovaries produce this hormone when an egg is released by an ovary. The hormone is to prepare the uterine lining.