My aunt used to come to a holiday dinner and eat something before anybody else. Cranberry sauce was her go-to.
“Why can she eat before everybody else does?” I whispered to my mother when I was young.
“Because she has diabetes.”
And my mother turned away and went on with the festivities. No explanation. End of discussion.
But as I grew older, I knew people with diabetes, so I listened and learned. Diabetics know when their blood sugar is too low. Short of passing out, as happens sometimes, feeling very tired, or looking pale, for example, they just know when action is called for. It’s a condition called hypoglycemia when their blood sugar falls out of range.
For my aunt, cranberry sauce, because of its high-sugar content, did the trick.
Diabetes can increase the odds of getting a stroke and can contributes to stroke risk in several ways:
- High Blood Pressure: Diabetes often results in high blood pressure, a major risk factor for stroke. High blood pressure make them more prone to blockage or rupture because of damage to the blood vessels.Â
- Blood Sugar Levels: Leading the risk of stroke, uncontrolled blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels and nerves. (Long-term high blood glucose might affect cardiovascular health).
- High cholesterol mixed with obesity are also more likely to have other circumstances that increase stroke risk with diabetes.
- Atherosclerosis: Atherosclerosis happens when there is too much plaque in the arteries caused by narrowing and hardening of the arteries, which increases the odds of stroke.Â
- Blood Clotting: Diabetics have blood clots more likely. Blood clots can block blood flow to the brain, causing a stroke.
But is the reverse possible, that is, stroke first and diabetes afterwards? Here’s how this scenario might unfold:
- Inactivity: Stroke survivors often have reduced mobility, which can lead to weight gain and increased insulin resistance.
- Changes in Diet and Metabolism: Stroke recovery often involves changes in diet and can affect how the body processes glucose.
- Medication Side Effects: Some medications used to treat stroke or its risk factors, like steroids or certain antipsychotics, can increase blood sugar levels and contribute to the development of diabetes.
- Stress Response: A stroke is a major physical and psychological stressor that can affect the body’s hormonal balance, including the regulation of insulin and blood sugar.
While both diabetes and stroke “tend to run” in families, the overwhelming factors are:
- Do you get enough exercise?
- Are the food choices beneficial to you?
- Are you staying in good shape?
Things happen, though. I was a runner, ate a healthy diet, had low blood pressure and cholesterol, and no diabetes YET I still had a stroke.
I inherited genes from my mother’s side–a deficiency in Proteins S and C–that caused me to have blood clots in every extremity that cut off blood flow to the brain. I found that out after 10 years (now 15) as a stroke survivor.
There’s a test to see if you are deficient in Protein S and C. You might consider having a blood draw, and then the resultant sample is spun at very high rate of speed, otherwise known as centrifuged, to separate the plasma. The plasma is frozen and stored at -80^oC until analysis. See? Easy-peasy.Â
As Bryan Adams, the Canadian singer-songwriter and musician said, “Trying to manage diabetes is hard because if you don’t, there are consequences you’ll have to deal with later in life.”
No shit, Sherlock, like the existential upheaval known as stroke.
