Diabetes Tests Crucial for Seniors

Diabetes Tests Crucial for Seniors

Undiagnosed epidemic

The diabetes epidemic in the U.S. is huge, especially among older adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 12 million seniors, age 60 and older … roughly 23 percent of people in this age group … have diabetes, but nearly half of them don't know it. The danger of undiagnosed diabetes is that, left untreated, it increases the risk of heart disease and stroke and can escalate into kidney failure, blindness, loss of limbs and death.

Who's vulnerable?

There are a variety of factors that can put you at risk of getting type 2 diabetes, including:

Family history: The more relatives you have with the disease, the higher your risk.

Weight: Being overweight with a body mass index of 25 or more. See www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi to calculate your BMI. The heavier you are, the greater your risk. Also, having excess fat around your waist, rather than around the hips and thighs increases your risk.

Age: Your risk increases as you get older, especially after age 45.

Blood pressure: High blood pressure of 140/90 or higher.

Cholesterol: Having low HDL (good) cholesterol under 35 mg/dL or high triglycerides over 250 mg/dL.

Race: Hispanic, Asian, African-Ameicans or Native Americans are more vulnerable.

Symptoms

The tricky thing about diabetes is that the symptoms (fatigue, increased hunger, excessive thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, blurred vision, slow-healing cuts or sores, tingling or numbness in the hands and feet) usually seem harmless, and often don't appear for years, until significant damage to the blood vessels already has occurred.