Diabetes and Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Diabetes is a condition in which your body has trouble using a sugar called glucose for energy. As a result, the sugar level in your blood becomes too high. Diabetes is a chronic (lifelong) condition. It puts you at higher risk of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). This is a disease of arteries in the legs. If you have PAD, it’s likely that arteries in other parts of the body are diseased, too. That puts you at high risk of other serious health problems. Read on to learn how diabetes can lead to PAD and affect your health.
How Can Diabetes Lead to Peripheral Arterial Disease?
Diabetes can damage arteries. Having high blood sugar can make artery walls rough. Plaque (waxy material in the blood) can then build up in artery walls. This makes it harder for blood to flow through the arteries. If diabetes is poorly controlled, PAD and other complications are more likely to develop. But diabetes can be controlled with weight loss, exercise, diet changes, and medication. Proper foot care is especially important for people with PAD.
What Happens If Diabetes Isn’t Controlled?
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If you have both poorly controlled diabetes and PAD, you have a very high risk of having a toe, foot, or leg amputated.
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Uncontrolled diabetes can cause many complications, including heart disease, stroke, kidney damage or kidney failure, nerve damage (neuropathy), eye damage (retinopathy), sexual dysfunction, and periodontal (gum) disease.
What Happens If Diabetes Is Controlled?
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Regular foot care can reduce your amputation risk as much as 85%.
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Controlling diabetes can reduce your risk of developing kidney disease as much as 50%, eye disease as much as 75%, and neuropathy as much as 60%. The risks of heart disease, stroke, and other complications are also reduced.
Date Last Reviewed:
11/13/2007
Date Last Modified:
11/13/2007