is year. Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death by disease in the US. More than 160,000 people will die from diabetes and its complications this year. Many people first become aware of their diabetes when they develop one of its complications. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness. It destroys vision by interfering with the function of the retina. The tiny blood vessels in the retina are weakened, break and start to leak blood into the eye that clouds vision. Most people who have diabetes for longer than ten years begin to develop retinopathy. About 30,000 people will go blind from diabetes this year.Kidney disease is another complication of diabetes. Ten percent of all diabetics will develop kidney disease. Risk factors for nephropathy, damage to the kidneys, are high blood pressure and kidney and urinary tract infections. If a patient's kidneys fail, a condition called the end stage renal disease, they will either have to undergo dialysis, a method of removing wastes from the blood, several times a week or have a kidney transplant in order to stay alive. In addition to lack of control over blood sugar levels, many diabetics also have problems with high blood pressure, cholesterol, and fat levels. This combination leads to angioplasty, or disease of the blood vessels. Very small blood vessels, both veins and arteries, become thick and weak. Larger blood vessels start developing arterioscleroses, clogging with fat and blood clots, slowing the flow of blood. If the clots break loose and travel to the brain, a stroke can occur. If the clogged blood vessel supplies the heart, a heart attack can occur when blood circulation is interrupted. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have a heart attack then normal people. More than 77,000 diabetics die annually due to heart disease. Diabetics are also five times more likely to suffer a stroke, with more than 11,000 deaths annually. Impaired b...
