Living with Diabetes

Clinical Complications of Diabetes

Clinical complications associated with diabetes may include the following:

• cardiovascular disease
  Cardiovascular disease, in many cases, is caused by atherosclerosis - an excess build-up of plaque on the inner wall of a large blood vessel, which restricts the flow of blood. Heart disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related deaths. Heart disease and stroke are two to four times more common in persons with diabetes.

• hypertension
  High blood pressure affects 73 percent of persons with diabetes.

• dental disease
  Periodontal (gum) disease occurs with greater frequency in persons with diabetes.

• retinopathy or glaucoma (eye disease or blindness)
  Blindness due to diabetic retinopathy is a more important cause of visual impairment in younger-onset people than in older-onset people. Males with younger-onset diabetes generally develop retinopathy more rapidly than females with younger-onset diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults ages 20 to 74.

Real-Life Ways to Manage Diabetes

It’s one thing to know what you should do to prevent or control diabetes. It’s another thing to actually do it. For people with the disease, too often life seems to get in the way of healthy eating, physical activity, glucose testing, medication regimens and all those recommended doctor visits.

If managing diabetes seems like a full-time job, keep in mind it’s a task that can’t be taken lightly. Diabetes is the fifth-leading cause of death by disease in the United States. Without proper self-management, it often leads to serious complications, such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease and lower-limb amputations, to name a few.