After being diagnosed with diabetes, many people work on improving their health to decrease the likelihood of complications. Kidney disease, skin disorders, blindness and foot problems are well-known complications of the condition. However, there is another risk that often hides in the background, unbeknownst to the patient.

Heart disease and stroke are major complications associated with diabetes, yet nearly 70% of people with diabetes aren’t aware of the connection between heart attack, stroke and diabetes.* Because people with diabetes often experience high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels along with other health problems, they are at an increased risk of developing arterial disease – a condition that can ultimately lead to a stroke or heart attack. Although this may seem dire, the long-term outlook for diabetics can be positive if risk factors are managed properly.

A Heart-to-Heart Matter

If you’re wondering how diabetes affects your heart, here’s how: A spike in blood sugar, blood pressure or cholesterol can harm your blood vessels by making it easier for fat deposits to cling to the arteries. Arteries and blood vessels can become blocked, leading to a heart attack or stroke. Fortunately, there are strategies for warding off arterial disease.

One of the first steps in determining whether you are at risk for diabetes complications is to assess your overall health. If you smoke, drink heavily and/or eat poorly, your health may be at risk. These factors can harm anyone’s health, but are especially dangerous for a person with diabetes. Making changes to your lifestyle takes effort, but can greatly reduce complications. To help maintain heart health, the American Diabetes Association suggests following the ABCs of diabetes care.

Lower your Hemoglobin A1C. Keeping your Hemoglobin A1C (a blood test that indicates how your blood sugar control has been over the past three months) below 7% can help prevent complications.

Monitor blood pressure. Have your blood pressure checked regularly. If your doctor tells you it’s high, you may need to work on reducing stress or following an exercise routine. Medication may also be an option for getting blood pressure under control.

Tackle bad cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is unhealthy for your heart. This type of cholesterol can lead to fat build-up in your arteries, increasing the chance that you’ll develop cardiovascular disease. By lowering your cholesterol, you can help keep your heart in working order.

On the Right Path

If you have diabetes and are concerned about your risk for heart attack or stroke, talk to your physician. Your health care provider can help monitor your diabetes and suggest ways to improve your health.

Learn how to live healthy with diabetes. Research your questions at: http://living-healthy-with-diabetes-swicki.eurekster.com/

* Source: Mayo Clinic.com.

Juvenile diabetes mellitus is now more commonly called Type 1 diabetes. It is a syndrome with disordered metabolism and inappropriately high blood glucose levels due to a deficiency of insulin secretion in the pancreas.

Juvenile Diabetes is believed to be an autoimmune disorder. There is also a strong hereditary component to juvenile diabetes. Researchers believe an environmental trigger or virus causes the body to attack the beta cells in the pancreas. Once these cells are destroyed the body can no longer produce insulin.

Diabetes is the primary reason for adult blindness, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), gangrene and amputations. Overweight, lack of exercise, family history and stress increases the likelihood of developing diabetes. When blood sugar level is constantly high it leads to kidney failure, cardiovascular problems and neuropathy. Patients with diabetes are 4 times more likely to have coronary heart disease and stroke. In addition, Gestational diabetes is more dangerous for pregnant women and their fetus.

Rapid weight loss is one of the first symptoms of diabetes, especially if the child also has increased hunger, especially after eating. Other Symptoms include: frequent urination; dry mouth; fatigue; blurred vision and numbness or tingling of the hands or feet.

Juvenile diabetes is a chronic health problem for children. There are many myths and misinformation about diabetes. There is also confusion between juvenile diabetes, also known as type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes. The symptoms for both are for the most part the same, however, the cause and treatment is very different.

Juvenile diabetes can affect anyone of any age, but is more common in people under 30 years and tends to develop in childhood. Other names for juvenile diabetes include Type I diabetes and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Common symptoms of diabetes and, more specifically, on symptoms of juvenile diabetes. Causes of diabetes are discussed, as well as testing and dietary issues.

The risk of juvenile diabetes is higher than virtually all other severe chronic diseases of childhood. Juvenile diabetes tends to run in families. Brothers and sisters of a child with juvenile diabetes have at least 100 times the risk of developing juvenile diabetes as a child in an unaffected family.

The symptoms of juvenile diabetes, also known as Type 1 diabetes, and Type 2 diabetes are extremely similar, but the two are caused by very different bodily malfunctions. It is important to know which type the individual is afflicted with in order to provide the right treatment, which also varies between types.

It’s not always apparent that a child has type 1 or juvenile diabetes. Some of the symptoms seem like average childhood problems that occur. Nausea and/or vomiting can be misconstrued as the flu. Irritability, being tired and listless may be attributed to behaviors all children exhibit at one time or another. The discovery of juvenile diabetes may happen during a visit to a physician for another ailment such as a vaginal yeast infection for girls or even a routine examination.

Juvenile diabetes is the idea that it can be caught from another person. Juvenile diabetes, along with the other types of the disease, is absolutely not a contagious disease. Another misconception about the disease is the traditional belief that eating sweets can directly cause diabetes. In a way, eating too much sweet may eventually cause diabetes because doing so can lead to obesity. But eating sweets does not cause diabetes. Stress is never a cause of juvenile diabetes or any type of diabetes.