This week’s article is focusing on diabetes and stroke since the world recently commemorated stroke day on the 29th of October.
A stroke is a medical condition that occurs when blood supply to the brain is interrupted or when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain or neck. Such changes results in malfunction of the body part that the injured brain controls.
World Health Organisation lists stroke as the third leading cause of disability worldwide. Characterised by movement problems, numbness, and speech difficulty, stroke is also one of the major complications of diabetes. Research says people with diabetes are more likely to have a stroke than people without.
Living with diabetes means a person has a pancreas that produces little or no insulin. This results in uncontrolled blood glucose levels often higher than normal. Having too much sugar in the blood can damage blood vessels and without adequate blood supply brain cells are deprived of oxygen leading to weakness or paralysis of the body. High blood sugar can also cause a build-up of clots or fatty deposits inside blood vessels which then travels to the brain and cause a stroke.
Signs and symptoms of stroke include:
- Weakness or numbness of your face, arm or leg on one side of your body
*Confusion, difficulty talking or trouble understanding speech
- Loss of balance or trouble walking
*Difficulty seeing in one or both eyes
*A severe headache for no know reason
Stroke disease is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention to save a life. More so, the same lifestyle risk factors that contributes to the development of diabetes are also responsible for causing stroke. These include poor diet and nutrition, lack of physical activity, smoking and excessive alcohol use. Watching out for these and making lifestyle changes help to reduce chances of getting a stroke.
Other risk factors include family history, genetics and age. It is also very important to keep blood sugar levels and blood pressure within the normal range especially for a person with diabetes.
