At least 50 percent of people with diabetes or diabetes are unaware that they have this condition. There are also many people who walk around with elevated and poorly regulated blood pressure, without realizing this. “We try to achieve this with our awareness campaign around World Diabetes Day. We hold injections for a week and then we have as many people as possible injected. And you are shocked at what comes out of that: that people don’t know that they have way too high blood sugars or too high blood pressures, ”says Jim Rasam, CEO of the Intermed Group of Companies.
As part of the diabetes campaign launched today, people will be able to visit MyLab from November 17-24 to get their blood pressure and blood sugar samples for free. Rasam underlines the importance of people knowing their values. Two years after the establishment of the dialysis center Diapura, it turned out that 75 percent of the dialysis patients entered because of neglect of blood sugar and blood pressure.
Better monitoring necessary
The Intermed CEO says that dialysis care is very expensive. For a country like Suriname, which is now struggling with both an economic and the COVID crisis, this care is almost unaffordable. Dialysis centers have been arguing for a cost-effective rate per dialysis treatment for years, but so far only receive half of the real costs. As a result, their business operations are seriously endangered, as are treatment and the lives of dialysis patients.
These patients would not have had to go on dialysis if they could have been better monitored and guided. “You have to act very quickly if you notice that someone has elevated blood sugar or elevated blood pressure. You can immediately refer them back to the doctor. Actually, we should go even further with the monitoring and see if the people actually went to the doctor or the specialist, ”says Rasam.
Diseased blood vessels due to diabetes and hypertension
He explains what happens when someone walks around with diabetes or hypertension for too long and does not know: “Anything can happen in your body, your entire metabolism is disrupted. If you walk around with too high blood sugars or even too high blood pressures for too long, it will affect your blood vessels.
And you have to see your blood vessels as a kind of infrastructure, a road network in a country or in a city, and you have to compare those blood vessels with those roads. What happens when roads get blocked? There is a traffic jam and you cannot get through. In the case of those blood vessels, when they get sick, they get clogged or they burst. The longer such a person walks around with elevated blood sugars and elevated blood pressures, consciously or unconsciously, you will get sick blood vessels. ”
Exercise for beautiful blood vessels
In addition, it is also good to look at the fat profile of the people. Cholesterol and triglyceride are fats that can cause diseased blood vessels. Partly for this reason, DiaBetre was founded at the time to help diabetes patients regulate their blood sugar and blood pressure, but also to keep their blood vessels healthy. By watching their diet they can minimize the negative effects of elevated blood sugar and blood pressure.
“Exercise is very important, but we move too little in this country. Exercise improves your circulation. You get a good blood circulation, not only to your heart, but also to your brain and your muscles. Sugar is a form of energy, it is your fuel in your body. If you have too much fuel and you don’t do anything with it, it will start to store up. You have to move, not so much to lose weight, but especially to keep those blood vessels open and especially to provide the organs with good blood, ”Rasam advises.
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