How Diabetes can Lead to a Stroke?
A human brain controls almost every aspect of your body. When this controlling system gets disturbed, it’s obvious that the whole system would be affected. This is what happens in a stroke.
A stroke is a condition when the blood supply to any part of the brain is suddenly interrupted, which leads to the death of cells and tissues in the brain.
Since the brain controls our function, cellular damage can lead to problems in speech, movement, paralysis, or vision.
Types of Strokes
Strokes are usually segmented into three categories:
- Ischaemic
- Haemorrhagic, and
- Transient Ischemic Attack.
Ischaemic Stroke
In Ischaemic Stroke, the blood supply is interrupted by a blood clot in any of the blood supplying arteries. This blockage can be caused by plaques (bad cholesterol that also blocks the blood vessels in our hearts).
In this case, clot or plaque may migrate from the heart and reach the brain, causing blockage in the blood vessels of the brain which further causes damage to brain tissues and affects body functions.
Haemorrhagic Stroke
In haemorrhagic stroke, a blood vessel in the brain gets ruptured and the blood leaks out. This blood creates pressure in our skull. This condition again damages the brain tissue and affects the body functions
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
In Transient Ischemic Attack or Ministroke, the blockage (blood clot or plaque) can migrate to the brain and blocks the blood supply for an interval of time until blood flow takes it away towards the heart again.
Did you know? Women are more prone to develop stroke!
What are the symptoms and warning signs of a stroke?
As per Americal Stroke Association, the warning signs are acronymed as FAST.
By following the warning signs, you can save a life. If you experience the sudden onset of the following signs in anyone, please rush him/ her to the nearest hospital
- FACE: Generally half of the face gets affected causing drooping of eyes, mouth or facial paralysis.
- ARMS: One of the arms may feel heavy, numb, painful, and/ or difficult to lift.
- SPEECH: Slurred speech, difficulty in speaking, loss of hold over vocabulary or words.
- TIME: If a person shows any of these symptoms, urgent medical supervision is needed.
Other symptoms of stroke are:
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Confusion
- Hallucinations
- Loss of memory
- Pain
- Weakness
- Seizures
- Impaired vision
- Trouble walking or maintaining balance
- Severe headache
Since blockage of blood flow can damage tissues suddenly, these symptoms are experienced suddenly and NOT over a period of time
The display of symptoms highly depends on the blood vessels getting blocked and the part of the brain getting damaged.
Did you know? A woman overcame depression after an episode of stroke. Doctors hypothesized that some part of the area which controls memory got damaged.
Effect of stroke on various body organs system
Since the brain controls every function and is connected to every organ of our body, damage to the brain can cause impairment to any of the organ systems.
- Respiratory System: Difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath, increased heartbeat, decreased heartbeat, abnormal body temperature. Also, if muscles of throat and food pipe aren’t able to coordinate, symptoms such as difficulty in swallowing may be observed.
- Nervous System: Changes in vision, pain in body, reduced senses, difficulty in walking, changes in personality traits, loss of memory, and changes in thinking pattern.
- Circulatory System: Reduced blood flow and chances of experiencing another stroke.
- Muscular System: Fatigue and muscular weakness.
- Digestive System: Constipation, uncontrolled bowel movements, and incontinence of bowels.
- Urinary System: Loss of control of urine (bladder voiding).
- Reproductive System: Loss of libido
What are the Risks of Stroke?
- Alcohol: Excess alcohol consumption can lead to high blood pressure and increased cholesterol levels, which in turn, increases the risk of stroke.
- Physical inactivity: Sedentary lifestyle can lead to metabolic disorders, which further increases the risk of stroke.
- Diet: Consuming foods rich in unhealthy fats causes increased levels of bad cholesterol, and risk of stroke.
- Tobacco consumption, or Smoking: These factors damage blood vessels and increase the risk of stroke.
- Previous history of Transient Ischemic Attack: Patients who already developed TIA have an increased risk to develop stroke again.
- Comorbidities: The presence of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, increased cholesterol levels, obesity, and other metabolic diseases increase the risk of stroke.
How diabetes can lead to stroke?
Diabetes is a condition when there is too much sugar in the blood due to improper functioning of insulin-producing cells and insulin resistance.
Over time, this excess sugar can lead to a build-up of plaque/ lipid deposition, thickening of blood leading to increased blood pressure and narrowing of blood supplying arteries.
The blocked arteries and lipid build-up can interrupt the blood supply to any part of the body including the brain.
As per the American Diabetes Association, if you have diabetes then the chances of getting a Stroke is 1.5 times higher than in people without diabetes.
How to diagnose Stroke?
To diagnose the effects of stroke and its presence, there are a set of tests that a doctor will conduct to get a thorough workup done.
It includes:
- MRI: Checks if any tissues or brain cells are damaged.
- CT Scan: Checks if any tissues or brain cells are damaged.
- ECG: Checks the electrical activity of the heart and deduce if any blockages in heart vessels were responsible.
- Cerebral Angiogram: Checks the presence of blockages in blood vessels in brain
- Carotid Ultrasound: Checks the presence of blockages in carotid artery (the blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the brain)
How to reduce the risk of stroke if you have diabetes?
- Keep your blood sugar levels and blood pressure under control
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle
- Keep yourself physically active
- Quit smoking
- Keep the cholesterol level under check
How to manage a stroke with nutrition?
- Consume Omega 3 rich products such as nuts (almonds, walnuts), seafood, and flax seeds.
- Consume fibre-rich diet including salads and fruits.
- Consume blood thinning food products such as ginger, garlic, rosemary, and turmeric.
Did you know? Rosemary is a natural herb and has many nutrients but it can interact with a few medicines you must be taking for management of Stroke and hence, should be taken in a moderate amount after personalised guidance.
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