Introduction
Dr. William Polonsky, a well-known diabetes expert, once said, "Well controlled blood sugar is the cause of NOTHING." Most of the complications related to diabetes are caused by high blood sugar levels. By staying in control of your blood sugar, you can minimize both the short- and long-term complications of diabetes. It can be scary to hear about the problems that can sometimes happen when blood sugar is not well controlled over time, but it is important to understand how persistent high blood sugar can affect the different parts of your body. Then, you can learn what you can do to avoid these problems.
Complications of diabetes are either microvascular (small blood vessel) or macrovascular (large blood vessel) complications.
Microvascular complications of diabetes include:
- Retinopathy (eye disease)
- Nephropathy (kidney disease)
- Neuropathy (nerve disease)
Macrovascular complications of diabetes include:
- Cardiovascular disease (relating to the heart, such as heart attack or coronary heart disease)
- Peripheral vascular disease (relating to the large blood vessels of the arms, legs, and feet)
- Cerebrovascular disease (relating to the brain, such as stroke)