The Effects Of Uncontrolled Diabetes in the Heart & Kidneys

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Uncontrolled diabetes can affect nearly every organ of the body; of which, heart disease and kidney failure are most commonly impacted. Known as diabetes mellitus, a collective term for various blood abnormalities, the term diabetes refers to either a scarcity of insulin in the body or the body’s inability to accept insulin. Though the symptoms of diabetes are manageable, many are unaware as to having it. According to the CDC report “2011 Diabetes Fact Sheet,” approximately 6 million people in the United States have undiagnosed diabetes. Undetected, diabetes can become deadly. In a recent World Health Organization report “Diabetes Action Now: An Initiative of the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation,” it states that “32 million deaths worldwide are attributable to diabetes every year” (4). Also “the number of people with diabetes will be more than double over the next 20 years, reaching a total of 366 million by 2030”(9). To better understand this disease, the function of insulin within the body must first be addressed.
Insulin, the most important hormone in the body, allows the body to store and use glucose, which in turn, produces energy. Produced by the pancreas, insulin’s primary function is to allow glucose, from the blood to be absorbed in the body’s cells. However when blood sugar is higher than normal, diabetes exists. Diabetes can affect everyone. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) states that “the majority of patients with diabetes are 20 years old or older, of whom about 13 million are men and 12.6 million are women” (Hilaire, Woods). The article goes on to state that “in 2007, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States” (Hilaire, Woods). Because of its ser...

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