Type 1 Diabetes
In Type 1 diabetes, the cells of the pancreas responsible for making insulin either fail to do so or create very little.
This keeps the glucose unused in the blood, and can ultimately cause an overload of blood sugar.
It is mostly diagnosed in young adults and children
This is the most common type of diabetes. Ninety percent of the adults suffering from diabetes have Type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when your pancreas produces the insulin, but your cells are unable to use it properly. In medical terminology, this is called insulin resistance.
Initially, the pancreas responds by making more insulin to try to get the cells to use it properly. However, over time, the pancreas fails to keep up. This may ultimately cause excess blood sugar.
Excess blood sugar due to either type of diabetes is a major cause for concern. Uncontrolled diabetes can allow the sugar to remain in the blood for too long and damage other organs
Diabetes causes a 2- to 4-fold increase in a person’s risk of having a heart attack, heart failure, coronary artery disease (artery blockage) and death, according to a 2011 study published in Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine.
People with diabetes are likely to have a heart attack or heart failure at a younger age, the study also notes.
High blood sugar levels in the heart for a prolonged period can irritate and damage the insides of the arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to heart.
This triggers an accumulation of cholesterol and fat deposits in the arteries, eventually narrowing them and obstructing blood flow.
This is called coronary artery disease (CAD). It can develop for multiple reasons other than diabetes. However, it develops much faster in diabetic patients.
Nerves transmit messages from the brain to the different organs in our bodies, allowing us to move, see, hear, breathe and feel.
Almost half the people with diabetes are likely to suffer nerve damage at some point, and it is usually diagnosed late in Type 1 patients and early in Type 2 patients, according to a 2005 study published in American Family Physician.
High blood sugar levels in diabetic patients interfere with the nerves’ ability to transmit signals to the different organs.
Persistent high blood sugar also irritates the walls of the blood capillaries carrying blood to the different organs. Eventually, this starves the nerves of oxygen and nutrients, and damages them severely.
Because nerves run throughout the body, nerve damage can have a variety of symptoms depending on the area of the body that has been affected. This may include your legs, hands, gastrointestinal tract as well as your reproductive organs.