Medical experts sound the alarm on growing diabetic amputations among Black patients

In operating rooms across the country, more and more diabetics are receiving amputations due to complications from type-2 diabetes. The life-altering procedures are more common among Black and Latino patients who are more likely to be diagnosed with the disease, according to health data. Doctors perform surgery on a patient. ABC News Despite the grim figures, medical professionals said that diabetics can avoid losing a limb, but due to a lack of awareness of treatments, many minorities are missing out on this critical care. “The reason I did not go to the doctor or anything, [is because] I didn’t want to hear the doctor say ‘We have to take your leg,'” Shelton Echols, a diabetic amputee, told ABC News. Health experts, however, said that there is a new push to get the right medications and treatment to these patients earlier and avoid going under the knife. Echols said that he was well aware of his diabetes and health problems but never really took action on it. He said his hemoglobin A1C tests showed his levels were 14%, well above normal. A normal A1C is considered to be below 5.7%, according to medical experts. “So I was playing Russian roulette with...