Abstracts by key term: CHD
The complexity of the metabolic disease diabetes mellitus type 2 affects many organs in the body. Accordingly, a positive correlation is often found between the severity of diabetes and the occurrence of other diseases such as neuropathy, peripheral arterial disease (PAOD) and coronary artery disease (CHD) (Bauer T, 2011). CHD means that the coronary arteries that supply the heart muscle with oxygen are narrowed. This constriction is caused by arteriosclerosis, which in turn can arise from hypertension, hyperlipidemia and increased blood sugar levels in diabetes mellitus. In particular, the increased blood sugar damages the vessels and leads to micro- and macroangiopathies. As a result, diabetics are much more likely to develop CHD than non-diabetics (Kannel W, 1979). The risk of coronary heart disease is already increased before the diabetes diagnosis, as the pre-diabetes phase with elevated blood sugar levels exists for a long time before the confirmed diabetes diagnosis (Hu FB, 2002)