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Strong Heart and Vascular Center

Division of Vascular Surgery

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Diabetic Vascular Disease

What is Diabetic Vascular Disease?

Diabetic vascular disease occurs when the blood vessels become damaged from the excessive amount of blood glucose (sugar) that comes from diabetes. Diabetes is the condition that results from a lack of insulin, or the body's inability to effectively use insluin causing too much sugar in the blood.

Diabetes is linked to a number of vascular problems, including:

Controlling blood sugar levels may help to prevent or slow the development of diabetic vascular disease.

Learn more about Diabetes

Symptoms of Diabetic Vascular Disease

Symptoms of diabetes include:

  • Frequent urination
  • Thirst
  • Fatigue
  • Weight loss in spite of increased appetite

People with diabetic vascular disease may experience the symptoms of diabetes, plus:

  • Blurry vision ( caused by the abnormal formation of retinal blood vessels)
  • Foot ulcers (caused by narrowed blood vessels limiting oxygen supply to the foot)
  • Chest pain or leg pain when walking

Diagnosing Diabetic Vascular Disease

Early detection of diabetes can prevent health problems. For diabetes testing, patients fast and then have blood tests to measure glucose level. Urine tests are performed to diagnose diabetic kidney disease, and the following are tests that diagnose diabetic vascular disease:

Treatment Options

Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels, controlling high blood pressure and controlling lipid levels with medication are major goals in the treatment of diabetic vascular disease.

Commonly prescribed medications include:

  • Insulin
  • Glucose-lowering medications (such as sulfonylureas to increase secretion of insulin from the pancreas)
  • Thiazolidinediones (to enhance the cells’ response to insulin)
  • Metformin (to decrease the release of glucose from the liver)
  • Antihypertensive medications (to lower blood pressure)
  • Lipid-lowering medications such as statins (to reduce the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood)
  • ACE inhibitors (to control blood pressure and reduce risk of heart attack and stroke)
  • Aspirin

Lifestyle modifciation include:

  • Quit smoking
  • Eat a low-fat diet
  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Exercise regularly
  • Examine the feet every day and protect from injury and moisture to reduce risk of foot ulcers

If diabetic vascular disease has progressed to a serious stage, the following treatments may be recommended...