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Diabetes
A Major Risk Factor — Diabetes is a disease in which the body doesn't produce or properly use insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas that is needed to turn sugar and other food into energy. This causes sugars to build up in the blood. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to many serious medical problems. These include blindness, kidney disease, nerve disease, limb amputation and cardiovascular disease.
Even when blood glucose levels are under control, diabetics face an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. In fact, heart disease death rates among adults with diabetes are 2 to 4 times higher than the rates for adults without diabetes. Unfortunately, most people with diabetes die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease. And while there is no cure, diabetes is treatable. By reducing your risk factors for cardiovascular disease, you're also reducing your risk of developing diabetes. |
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Types of Diabetes
Type 1
The pancreas makes little or no insulin. Without daily insulin injections, people with type 1 diabetes won't survive.
Type 2
The body doesn't make enough insulin and doesn't efficiently use the insulin it makes (insulin resistance).
Gestational Diabetes
During pregnancy, some women's bodies are not able to produce enough insulin to keep blood glucose under control. It's different from other forms because it starts during pregnancy and usually goes away after the baby is born.
Pre-Diabetes
Blood glucose levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to merit a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Individuals who are pre-diabetic have an increased risk for type 2 diabetes. |
Content taken from the 2006 Wal-Mart Healthy Heart Resource Book
courtesy of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
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