Diabetes mellitus or simply diabetes is a condition in which the body cannot regulate the abnormally high levels of the sugar glucose in the blood. The pancreas fully or partially stops producing insulin, which is essential for the absorption of blood sugar, or, in other words, the produced insulin is ineffective in the body. Complications caused by diabetes can affect your eye, skin and kidney health. Your cardiovascular health is also at risk.
The risk of cardiovascular disease
The lack of insulin interferes with the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, which in turn causes damage to the blood vessels and nerves. Complications caused by these metabolic disruptions may affect your eyes, skin, kidneys, feet and heart. Last, but not least, they can also cause some other problems, such as impotence in men and decreased sexual desire in women. Men with diabetes are at a greater risk of erectile dysfunction, or impotence, especially if their diabetes in not well controlled. Over time, poor control may result in increased damage to the nerves and circulation that controls blood flow to the penis. However, if the blood glucose levels are kept in the normal range, it will help reduce the chance of these problems occuring.
Type 2 diabetes is usually associated with obesity, increased lipid levels in the blood, and high blood pressure. If we add here a sedentary lifestyle and smoking, we’ve covered all the risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
It is important to stress that uncontrolled blood glucose levels in adults with diabetes increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, angina and other vascular diseases. Therefore, it’s of vital importance to educate people with diabetes in terms of implementing a healthy lifestyle with a strict control of blood glucose levels, blood pressure and lipid levels.
