People with chronically uncontrolled or poorly controlled diabetes will develop

Question

People with chronically uncontrolled or poorly controlled diabetes will develop severe peripheral vascular disease. Their blood vessels become damaged and blood flow to their extremities reduces (poor perfusion).

How does diabetes, left improperly managed, damage peripheral vasculature?

Diabetics are often instructed to take special care of their feet. They are supposed to avoid injury and be on the lookout for wounds that they might not otherwise have felt. What risks from a foot injury does a diabetic have that an otherwise healthy person not have to worry about?

Explanation / Answer

One of the long term complication of diabetes mellitus is diabetic macroangiopathy. The most common lesions are atheroma and calcification after tunica media of the large arteries. In the type 1 diabetes these changes may occur at a relatively early age. The most common consequences are serious and often fatal and one among them is peripheral vascular disease.

The another long term complication of diabetes mellitus is diabetic microangiopathy. This affect small blood vessels and there is thickening of the epithelial basement membrane of arterioles capillaries and sometimes venules. These changes may lead to vascular disease, progressing to gangrene and 'diabetic foot'.

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