Complications

Introduction

With good diabetes self-care and the support of your health care team, complications of diabetes can be prevented or reduced.

How do complications develop? Long standing high blood glucose levels, along with poorly controlled blood lipid levels and blood pressure, all contribute to damage to the body over time. Blood vessel damage increase heart disease. High glucose levels can also cause oxidative stress, which produces free radicals. Free radicals cause damage to the small blood vessels. High blood glucose levels also create the accumulation of advanced glycation end products, or AGEs, which damage the body.

The problems that follow diabetes are of two kinds: macrovascular and microvascular disease. Whatever the problem, the earlier you detect it and treat it, the less impact on your health.

Macrovascular complications – the most common complication of diabetes – are with the larger blood vessels of your heart and circulatory system. Problems such as coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure and stroke result from poor diabetes care. Blood vessels in the legs could develop poor circulation and foot healing problems. This is called peripheral vascular disease.

Microvascular complications are of the small blood vessels, which are weakened over time. Problems occur with the eyes, kidney, feet, teeth and nerves. Nerve damage, or neuropathy, is more common the longer you have diabetes. It might first affect the feet, with a tingling or burning sensation, numbness or reduced balance. The nervous system damage could affect other body systems that control the digestive system, the heart, circulatory system, sexual organs, body temperature, eyes, and blood sugar changes.

To learn more about specific complications with diabetes, click on the links in our directory below: