One major issue with elderly Type 2 diabetics is that they may have had the disease for a long time, but simply weren't diagnosed. That means that they may have had higher than normal blood sugars for years, which could have caused damage to the body. It is not uncommon for Type 2 diabetes to first be diagnosed after a person comes in to the hospital with a heart attack or a stroke.
Your father should undergo screening to see if he has any diabetes complications (aside from heart disease), such as:
-Retinopathy (damage to the blood vessels and retina at the back of the eye which can lead to blindness)
-Neuropathy (diabetic nerve damage which can lead to amputations without daily foot care and close monitoring. There are also other ways neuropathy can affect the body).
-Kidney damage, which can lead to dialysis.
Thankfully, most diabetic complications have effective treatments that can help prevent them from becoming a problem. The key to that is to:
-Control blood sugar as close to normal as possible.
-Control blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.
-Follow a healthy diet, exercise plan, don''t smoke, and limit excess alcohol.
-Be tested for and treated for any problems right away should they arise.
The good news is this, if your father has made it to 82, he is doing OK!
If he has only recently developed Type 2 diabetes (it becomes much more common in the elderly), then his risk for developing any of these problems is overall very low. Most complications *generally* take YEARS of abnormal blood sugars to develop.
That leads me to my last point. A major concern in elderly patients with diabetes is reducing the risk of low blood sugar. Low blood sugar in the elderly can lead to heart arrhythmias, which can be especially dangerous in someone with pre-existing heart disease. Because of this, doctors will usually make the target range for an elderly diabetic'c blood sugar a bit higher. Usually the doctors are also less concerned with complications due to a higher than normal blood sugar, because taking the chance that an 80 year old patient will live another 20 years to develop them is less of a risk than allowing them to develop an immediately fatal heart arrhythmia.
Please note that I am *not* saying that you should not try to keep his blood sugar in a safe range (you should), just that his doctor may advise a range a little bit higher than the current guidelines. Only his doctor can tell you for sure what his target range should be.
If your father is otherwise healthy (i.e. no other health issues related to diabetes or not), does not have severe damage from his heart attack, and controls his diabetes, he should be able to do fairly well.
If you feel that your father is not well enough or able enough to manage on his own, you might want to consider homecare or a nursing home. This option, although not one people like to think about, is sometimes a good choice for those with high medical needs. Most nursing homes have nursing staff that are very familiar with diabetes in the elderly.
No matter what, I hope that things turn out well! If you will be caring for him, you may want to both attend Diabetes Education classes at a local health centre. Ask his doctor for a referral.
Issues with Elderly Diabetics 
Linear Mode
