High blood sugar levels could lead to heart complications

Scientists in a recent study have demonstrated for the first time the mechanism by which sugar level in a person's blood can affect the contraction of blood vessels with potentially dangerous effects on the heart and blood pressure.

Researchers led by Dr. Richard Rainbow have shown that blood vessels contract more strongly at raised glucose levels than at normal physiological levels.

Using electrophysiology and myography techniques to examine the impact of glucose on arterial myocytes, cells that make up the tissue of our blood vessels, the team has identified a mechanism that controls the narrowing of blood vessels.

Heart attacks occur when a coronary artery, which provides the blood to the heart muscle to give the required nutrients and oxygen, are blocked. High glucose at the time of heart attack could make this block more severe by causing the blood vessel to contract, leading to a higher risk of complications.

The study has been published in British Journal of Pharmacology.