Diabetes

What are the symptoms or signs of heart failure? The main symptom of heart failure is shortness of breath. Often it is a feeling of choking or discomfort in breathing. An important symptom is that the breathlessness is more in lying down posture and is often relieved in sitting up position. This is occasionally accompanied with coughing (usually with minimal sputum) and rarely with blood tinged frothy cough. Often patients have subtle signs to start with such as fatigue and tiredness while…

What is ejection fraction (EF)? Why is it important to know your EF number and what it means? Ejection fraction refers to the Pumping Power of your heart. It is normally 55-60%. It is important to know what is the pumping power of your heart since reduced pumping power or ejection fraction implies that your heart is diseased and increases the risk for congestive heart failure. Are there different types of heart failure? Heart failure most often occurs due to reduced ejection fraction – called…

What is Heart Failure (HF)? Is it the same as congestive heart failure? Heart Failure refers to the inability of the heart to function normally. About 8-10 million patients in India are estimated to be suffering from Heart failure – about 1% of the adult population. A common misconception is that heart failure means that the heart stops beating. In fact, it means that the heart cannot pump blood adequately for circulating throughout the body. Since the blood flow to all the organs in our body…

काजल हांसदा, वरिष्ठ आहार विशेषज्ञ और मधुमेह शिक्षक, डीएवाई (डायबिटीज अवेयरनेस एंड यू - मधुमेह जागरूकता और आप) इस लेख में त्योहार के दिनों में रक्त शर्करा के स्तर के प्रबंधन के लिए सुझाव साझा कर रही  हैं। दीपावली और दुर्गा पूजा जैसे त्यौहारों में मिठाई और नमकीन का खुले दिल से सेवन करना आम है, हैं और यह मधुमेह वाले व्यक्तियों के लिए यह एक कठिन समय हो सकता है। ऐसे समय पर आहार का प्रबंधन कैसे किया जाना चाहिए? भारतीय त्योहारों को मिठाइयों और नमकीन भारी मात्रा में परोस कर मनाया जाता है, और ऐसे…

If you have diabetes, your chances of getting an infection are higher than a person without diabetes. Having a cold, flu, COVID-19 or any other infection can then cause your blood glucose levels to increase. Thus, knowing how to handle such days and being prepared can prevent distress and complications that can occur due to hypergylcemia or high glucose levels in blood. What happens when you fall sick? When the body is unwell due to an infection or allergy, the immune system gets activated and…

Persons with diabetes have a 2-to-3 fold higher rate of cardiovascular complications than those without diabetes. Read more about how diabetes increases the risk of complications and what can be done to manage this risk. Pro-tip: The best approach is to manage and control diabetes well.  The diabetic population is known to have a 2-to-3 fold higher rate of complications than the non-diabetic population. While it is true that diabetes increases the risk of getting numerous…

Jayesh Shah, who has been living with Type 2 diabetes is a very informed and aware diabetes patient. He has actively looked at ways to manage his diabetes better, be it in terms of trying diet changes or changing his exercise routine. When he read about Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), he was keen to try it out. He shares his experience with CGM in detail. Context: I am a person living with Type 2 diabetes for over 30 years now. I was first diagnosed around the age of 29 during a routine…

People with diabetes are at a higher risk of high blood pressure. High Blood pressure also increases the risk of diabetes. This co-existence leads to cardiovascular conditions, stroke, kidney disease, visual impairment and more. Read more to understand how you can manage both these conditions to improve your health outcomes. The International Diabetes Federation estimated that 72.9 million adults in India had diabetes in 2017, and this number would grow to 134 million by the year 2045. Studies…

Jayesh Shah, a diabetes awareness advocate has lived with Type 2 Diabetes for more than 30 years. He shares how his understanding of diabetes management had evolved over the years and his learnings as a self advocate. In this video interview, Jayesh talks of how he has continued to learn about his condition. He also elaborates on: The support from his wife. What motivates him to manage diabetes Coping with the challenges of COVID and the impact COVID on his routine The importance of closely…

Ankita Bardhan was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was only 13, which threw her parents in a state of shock and disbelief. Her parents talk of the journey since, the challenges and how Ankita has learnt to handle the condition well. Was it a shock for you when Ankita was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes? Or is there any history of diabetes in the family? How did you go for the diagnosis? It was an absolute shock for us, so much so that when the doctor told us for the first time that she…