TEMPLE, TX — Sarah Delve’s world revolves around her family.
"My family is everything to me and being around my children. We relocated here from Colorado to be near our children," said Delve.
She said it is important she stays healthy for them.
"I have eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, so I'd definitely like to be around for them," said Delve.
Although she has a family history of health issues, she was surprised to find out she has coronary artery disease.
"I was very shocked to find out I had heart disease. I was having problems with my blood pressure," said Delve.
Now life is all about staying healthy and avoiding any other diseases.
"Everyone just about in my family is diabetic I'm not luckily but I'm there where I could be if I didn't keep control of what I eat," said Delve.
"She's really a poster child for how to avoid diabetes with a lot of risk factors that could lead her toward diabetes. She does have high blood pressure. We’ve been able to control that. She quit smoking. She's active now," said Dr. Jay Widmer, an interventional cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White Temple.
Researchers report the same guidelines used to avoid heart disease could also reduce a person's risk of getting diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
"I think that we've certainly seen evidence over time and now we have some recent data that as you adopt more and more of these healthy lifestyles: managing your weight, improving your diet, exercising, making sure the glucose is under control and making sure heart rate blood pressure are controlled, you're going to have a reduction in your progression to diabetes,” said Dr. Widmer.
Advice Delve said everyone should take to heart.
"Change your lifestyle right now and you might luck out I don't ever want to go through anything like this again," said Delve.
