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Avoiding Complications

You probably know that having diabetes means you are more likely to develop long-term health problems than people without diabetes. It is true that diabetes can lead to heart attacks and strokes and can also damage your eyes, feet and kidneys but don’t panic – help is at hand.

There is a lot you can do to reduce your chance of developing long-term complications of your diabetes.

 

 
 
What are the long-term complications of diabetes?

If you have diabetes, you are more likely to develop long-term health problems than people without diabetes. Diabetes can particularly affect your heart with a greater risk of heart disease, angina, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, high blood pressure and circulation problems. Diabetes can also affect your eyes, feet and kidneys.

Complications may be detected at the time your diabetes is diagnosed, or many years after you first develop diabetes. It is unusual for people with type 1 diabetes to develop complications within the first five or even ten years of their diabetes.

Here are the sorts of complications that can develop:

 

  • angina and heart attacks (the medical term is coronary heart disease)
  • stroke (the medical term is cerebrovascular disease)
  • poor circulation in the legs (the medical term is peripheral vascular disease)
  • diabetic kidney disease (the medical term is diabetic nephropathy)
  • diabetic eye disease (the medical term is diabetic retinopathy)
  • diabetic nerve damage (the medical term is diabetic neuropathy)
  • some infections

People with diabetes can develop long-term complications of their diabetes, especially if their blood sugars and blood pressure are not kept under control. For this reason diabetes must be taken very seriously and treated correctly. The risk of kidney damage and eye disease is much higher in people with poor control. The risk rises a lot when HbA1c levels are above 9%. Good control of your diabetes and keeping your HbA1c level as low as you can is the way to prevent complications developing.

It is important in treating your diabetes to achieve near normal blood sugar levels and a low blood pressure, which together with a healthy lifestyle, will help to improve your well-being, and protect against long-term damage to your eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and major arteries. In fact, the message is clear – by looking after yourself, you stand a better chance of avoiding all these potential health problems.

So click here to see how to keep your heart healthy

So click here to see how to keep your eyes healthy

So click here to see how to keep your feet healthy