Why is diabetes a risk factor for heart disease?

Why is diabetes a risk factor for heart disease?

Diabetes, both type 1 and type 2 is an important risk factor for heart disease, particularly for coronary heart disease. In fact, most people with diabetes actually die of the heart disease rather than of the diabetes itself, or of the complications. Diabetes can have multiple effects on the blood vessels, on the heart muscle itself and its function, and on the stiffness of the heart muscle so that heart failure can be a problem with diabetes. But the thing that we worry most about is the factors that relate to increasing risk for heart attacks and strokes; increasing atherosclerosis.