Research indicates that women with diabetes run a higher risk than men of developing heart disease.
Studies show that if you develop diabetes before menopause, your risk of getting coronary artery disease rises to a level to that of a man your age. Studies also show that diabetes can contribute to other risk factors associated with heart disease, like high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure. The exact reason that diabetes is so damaging to women s hearts is not known, but it may be that diabetic women have less HDL cholesterol in their blood. This makes them less resistant to atherosclerotic plaque and blood clots. Diabetes is also serious because it can cause changes in your nerve cells which result in your body s misinterpreting pain signals, such as chest pain.