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| Epidemiology & Disease Pathology > Macrovascular Complications |
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Epidemiology and Disease Pathology of Cardiovascular Disease
Diabetic cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of premature death among people with diabetes since chronic hyperglycemia leads to damage to many of the body's tissues, particularly the vasculature. As a result, macrovascular complications, which include cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular disease, are common complications in people with diabetes. Demographic trends in favor of developing CVD are obesity and inactivity, age, ethnic origin (ie, African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) and smoking (which doubles the risk for CVD in people with diabetes).
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Epidemiology and Disease Pathology of Cerebrovascular Disease
Macrovascular, or large vessel, complications, are the greatest overall cause of morbidity and mortality in Type 2 diabetes, and prevention of these complications is a major therapeutic challenge. Cerebrovascular disease refers to conditions of the blood vessels of the brain, including stroke, cerebral arteriosclerosis, cerebral aneurysm and cerebral artery disease.
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Epidemiology and Disease Pathology of Peripheral Vascular Disease
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) affects the blood vessels outside the heart and brain and is often a narrowing of vessels that carry blood to leg and arm muscles. PVD is common among people with diabetes, particularly in women, who are nearly 8 times more likely to suffer from PVD than are women without diabetes. In fact, diabetes is the most common cause of PVD. The correlation between diabetes and PVD is due to complications of the disease that may cause damage to the large and small blood vessels of the legs and feet.
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