People with diabetes are at increased risk for Afib

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The connection between diabetes and heart arrhythmias By Angela Haupt Editor, Health and Wellness I spend more time than might be usual thinking about heart arrhythmias—because almost all of the older people I know have recently been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, or Afib. More than 12 million people in the U.S. will have the condition in 2030, according to government statistics, and those whom I know often wonder what causes it. There are a variety of risk factors, including advancing age, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, and—perhaps less well-known—diabetes. By some estimates, people who have Type 2 diabetes are 34% more likely to develop Afib than people without diabetes. In a new piece for TIME, contributor Markham Heid explains the cause-and-effect relationship between the two. One hypothesis is that elevated blood sugar—a hallmark of diabetes—causes damage to the heart that may result in arrhythmias. Yet another possibility is that diabetes-related inflammation contributes to the development of an arrhythmia. According to figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one out of every seven strokes is caused by Afib. Fortunately, there's good evidence that people who have well-controlled diabetes are much less likely to develop Afib or other types of arrhythmias than people who have poorly controlled diabetes. Plus, there are some newer types of diabetes drugs that may help lower a person’s odds of developing an arrhythmia. Experts suggest asking your doctor about medications that have been shown to reduce heart-related complications—it might be time to reassess your regimen. READ MORE Share This Story

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AN EXPERT VOICE "Aside from spicy foods, a lot of cultures in hot climates eat hot food like soups all the time. I'm not sure if people who eat this way know why, or even think about why. But at some point, there was a reason. And that reason is that as you eat food that makes you feel hot, your body's core gets warmer, and that triggers the body to sweat and therefore start cooling, since our sole means of cooling is to sweat." —Dr. Linda Shiu, director of culinary and lifestyle medicine at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco

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