What are the Effects of Hyperglycemia on Type 2 Diabetes?

If you are one of the nearly 23.6 million Americans who suffer from Type 2 diabetes, you can suffer serious consequences if you don't keep your blood sugar under control. Long-term effects of high blood sugar--also known as hyperglycemia--include kidney damage, heart disease and blindness.

Symptoms

• The immediate effects of hyperglycemia include headache, blurry vision, thirst, frequent urination and dry skin.

Ketoacidosis

• Hyperglycemia can progress into ketoacidosis, a buildup of ketone acids in the blood. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and stomach pain. If untreated, ketoacidosis can cause coma and death.

Kidney Damage

• High blood sugar stresses the kidneys and can lead to kidney failure. When blood glucose is high, the kidneys cannot absorb all the sugar in the bloodstream and instead flush out excess sugar by producing extra urine. This increased workload can damage the kidneys and ultimately cause them to fail.

Heart Disease

• Uncontrolled blood sugar increases inflammation in the arteries, which can lead to hardening of the arteries. This narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow. If the condition continues, the artery can become blocked, resulting in a heart attack.

Blindness

• Hyperglycemia can damage the small blood vessels within the retina, releasing blood into the vitreous fluid and blocking light from the retina. Over time, damaged vessels can cause scarring or detachment of the retina. Both conditions can result in blindness.