He made a name for himself on the basketball court, but Walt Frazier has a message for everyone - and it doesn't have anything to do with sports.
In New York City, there are half a million people who know they have diabetes and another quarter million who have it and don't know it. Walt Frazier is a celebrity who knows the disease increases the risk of stroke and heart attack, and is helping get the message out.
Brooklyn resident John Anthony is having his sugar levels checked. He was diagnosed with diabetes many years ago and is now on medication. He also has heart disease and has had to have treatments to have his arteries unclogged.
"You experience it and you get the message real quick," 
Anthony said.
And that message of the increased risk of heart disease is what this messenger meeting doctors at Cabrini Medical Center wants is for more diabetes patients to get.
Walt Frazier is the cool "clyde" MVP champion of the 1970's Knicks. In health, he's still at the top of his game and he wants others to get with it.
"I've lost loved ones to the disease, so now I'm just happy to be a spokesperson for it and try and educate the public about type 2 diabetes,"
Frazier said.
Follow up:
Dr. Peter Sheehan heads the Diabetes Center at Cabrini. He reminds us that 2 out of 3 people with diabetes will die of heart disease or stroke. While patients don't need to be super athletes like Frazier, they can incorporate exercise, which can go a long way toward managing the disease of diabetes and lowering heart risks.
"Exercise lowers blood sugar, lowers blood pressure, lowers blood cholesterol and those are the three big risk factors for heart disease,"
Dr. Sheehan said.
Diabetes patient John Anthony and spokesperson Walt Frazier are each aware that both diabetes and heart disease are found in many members of their family.
"We have a family history of a hardening of the arteries and heart disease ... a lot of us had diabetes and didn't know it,"
Anthony said.
"A lot of obese people in my family, so I've lost them to heart attack and stroke,"
Frazier said.
"Diabetes and heart disease are clearly inherited ... You are at risk and you should be screened,"
Dr. Sheehan said.
Diet and weight are also critical in managing diabetes. Disturbingly, young people are also at risk. One study found 20 percent of youngsters with Type 2 Diabetes have a link to heart disease.
Source: Seven Online
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