In the worst case scenario, diabetes can be fatal. Every week, diabetes causes thousands of complications such as strokes, amputations, kidney failure, heart attack and heart failure. However, if you take action now, you can reduce your risk of getting type 2 diabetes and suffering from these complications. The leading cause of death for people with type 2 diabetes is cardiovascular disease.
This is due to the fact that high blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels, and also because people with type 2 diabetes often have high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and other factors that increase the risk of heart disease. This same type of damage to organs and blood vessels can also result in blindness and amputation of the feet or legs. These changes can reduce your quality of life and increase the risk of infection, injury, or additional illnesses. We know that keeping blood sugar under control, for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of these complications, said Dr.
About two-thirds of deaths among people with diabetes are due to cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks or strokes, Dr. This is because high blood sugar due to diabetes can damage the heart and blood vessels. People with diabetes are also more often obese, have high cholesterol or high blood pressure. These conditions can also damage or harden the blood vessels and the heart, increasing the risk of heart disease.
Overtreatment of diabetes can also harm your health. If you use too much insulin and your blood sugar level drops a lot, that can cause seizures, coma, and death, Dr. Low blood sugar can literally deprive the brain of oxygen, added Dr. Mcclain, and it can also trigger dangerous cardiac arrhythmias, also known as irregular heartbeats.
Improvements in medical technology have made overtreatment much less likely than before, but it remains a risk, especially as patients age. The warning system that lets the brain know that your blood sugar is getting too low weakens as you age, Dr. Doctors Improve Diabetes Treatment and Prevent Complications So Patients Can Live Longer, Healthier Lives. I had several diabetes patients in their 80s who are doing quite well, Dr.
It's not easy, and it's a lot of work on the part of the patient, but we have good tools that are getting better and better, and we can do it. WHO aims to stimulate and support effective measures for the surveillance, prevention and control of diabetes and its complications, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. New research suggests that a three-meal-a-day approach rather than a six-meal-a-day approach brings more benefits to people with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes also puts you at risk for certain health conditions that may reduce your life expectancy.
Most people with type 1 diabetes can maintain their normal blood sugar levels by using an insulin pump or injecting insulin manually several times a day. In lower-middle-income countries, the premature mortality rate from diabetes increased in both periods. Finally, a patient's risk of death skyrockets if poorly controlled diabetes damages their kidneys, researchers said. Type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset) is the result of ineffective use of insulin in the body.
Type 1 diabetes (formerly known as insulin-dependent, juvenile or infantile onset) is characterized by poor insulin production and requires daily insulin administration. Until recently, this type of diabetes was only observed in adults but now it also occurs more and more often in children. People who have diabetes cannot regulate their blood sugar levels, and if the disease is not strictly controlled, blood sugar may rise to abnormally high levels (hyperglycemia) or fall below normal (hypoglycemia). WHO recommends actions in areas such as increasing access to insulin; promoting convergence and harmonization of regulatory requirements for insulin and other medicines and health products for the treatment of diabetes; and evaluating the feasibility and potential value of establishing a web-based tool for sharing information relevant to the transparency of the markets for diabetes drugs and health products.
Anything that worsens diabetes or increases the risk of developing it can also shorten the life expectancy of a person with the disease. Risk factors for death in type 1 DM include cardiovascular disease, diabetic nephropathy, and retinopathy. The American Heart Association (AHA) estimates that adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to suffer from fatal heart disease than those without diabetes. People with IGT or IFG have a high risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes although this is not inevitable.
