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Keep and Copy Series
VOLUME 13 NUMBER 1 • JULY 2016
47
Patient
information
leaflet
SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE
Patient
information
leaflet
BE A MAN: GET YOUR HEALTH
CHECKED!
Erectile dysfunction, relationship problems, depression, heart attack; in that order. Not
very attractive? If you were told this was your future, what would you do? If you were
told that you could prevent it, now what would you do?
S Afr J Diabetes Vasc Dis
2016;
13:
47–48
‘I
definitely would have done whatever I could
to have stopped that from happening to me’,
says 53-year-old Sam. ‘Looking back, there
were so many signs that things were going wrong.
I didn’t feel right for ages – years, maybe. And it all
started when I began to put on a little weight. Not
a lot at first – just a bit of a tyre around my waist.
It was uncomfortable, but I didn’t do anything about
it, because all my friends were putting on weight
and I thought it was normal for men our age. Even
when I was told I had type 2 diabetes I didn’t really
pay much attention. I ate the same things. I didn’t
exercise. I left my health up to an occasional handful
of tablets and six-monthly visits to the doctor.’
‘It’s ironic that it took a heart attack to wake me
up. Now I exercise, I watch what I eat and drink, I
have lost weight and I feel better. But, because of
problems remaining after my heart attack, I can’t
do all the things I used to. And I really do regret not
doing something about it when I had the chance!’
Type 2 diabetes is one of the largest global health
emergencies of the 21st century.
1
Worldwide, it is a
leading cause of cardiovascular disease (heart at-
tacks and stroke), blindness, kidney failure and low-
er-limb amputation, and a major cause of death.
1
It
affects up to 4.5 million South Africans, more than
half of whom are unaware that they have it, and
the majority of whom will be dead before the age
of 60.
1
Primarily caused by an unhealthy diet, lack of
physical activity and excess body weight, type 2 dia-
betes occurs when the body stops making enough
insulin, or does not respond properly to the insulin
it has.
1
This deficiency of effective insulin causes
glucose (sugar) to accumulate in the blood stream,
rather than entering the cells, where it would nor-
mally provide energy. The sustained abnormally
high blood glucose level causes damage to blood
vessels and nerves, resulting in these horrendous
health consequences.
1
Dr Zane Stevens, an endocrinologist in private
practice in Cape Town is very concerned that men
are not proactive about their health. ‘Diseases of
lifestyle creep up slowly. Many previously fit, active
men get married and, as the years go by, adopt un-
healthy lifestyles due to the stresses of work, finan-
cial pressures, and trying to get ahead in a career.
Health becomes far from a priority.’
‘With regard to the diagnosis of diabetes in men,
unfortunately many men tend to seek help very late.
I think it’s partly because, as men, we often feel we
are supposed to be invincible and prefer to believe
that diabetes or blood pressure problems would
never happen to us! Added to this is the fact that
diabetes can go unnoticed for many years, as the
typical warning symptoms only occur once the glu-
cose rises to extremely high levels. Or even worse,
that something has been very wrong with our health
is only considered when a devastating complication
such as a heart attack has occurred!’
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION AND DIABETES
In men, one of the first signs that something is
wrong in the arteries may be erectile dysfunction