New Delhi, Oct. 3 -- Diabetes significantly increases the risk of heart disease and heart attacks, with experts warning that high blood sugar, insulin resistance and inflammation can damage blood vessels and lead to serious cardiac complications.

Dr Ashwin Mehta, Director of the Heart Failure Programme, Cardiology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, described diabetes as a "very big driver of heart disease" and explained how prolonged high blood sugar can contribute to cardiovascular damage.

"Diabetes is a very big driver of heart disease. So how diabetes really causes all this is by causing hyperglycemia, which is high sugar, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation. So there is damage to the lining of the blood vessels, which we call endoth...