New Delhi: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in India. Diabetes is considered one among the seven major controllable risk factors for stroke. Basically, stroke or brain attack is similar to a heart attack. In a heart attack, the blood vessel of the heart gets blocked, reducing the blood supply and damaging that area. In a brain attack or stroke, the same process of blocking of blood vessels to the brain occurs where one part of the brain does not get adequate blood supply, causing that area to become dead. This results in loss of brain function. The part of the brain damaged does not recover, causing severe disability for life.
There are primarily two types of stroke:
Ischemic stroke: It is the commonest type of stroke and accounts for 80 per cent of all stroke cases. Ischemic strokes occur when the arteries to your brain become narrowed or blocked, causing severely reduced blood flow (ischemia).
Hemorrhagic stroke: This condition occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures, causing blood to come out of the blood vessel and reach the brain. It accounts for 10-20 per cent of all stroke cases
According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes increases the risk of stroke by 1.5 per cent. Persistent high blood sugar levels have a detrimental effect over time on blood vessels and nerves. Uncontrolled blood sugar, over time, can lead to the formation of clots or fat deposits inside vessels that supply blood to the neck and brain. The growing deposits cause narrowing of the blood vessel wall or even a complete blockage, disrupting the blood flow and causing a stroke.
Another perspective is that diabetes mellitus and stroke share many common risk factors, for example, obesity, increased waist fat, high blood pressure, smoking, etc. Thus inflicted by one of these two maladies surreptitiously makes the subject prone towards the other. The silver lining of this intimate relationship, however, is that taking appropriate steps to control diabetes automatically shields oneself from the probability of suffering a stroke.
While it is important to manage diabetes for reducing the risk of stroke, high cholesterol and high blood pressure also need to be managed alongside diabetes to keep stroke at bay. These are three major risk factors for stroke as they affect the blood vessels.
(Disclaimer: The author, Dr V.P. Singh, Chairman of Institute of Neurosciences at Medanta, The Medicity, Gurugram, is a guest contributor and a part of our medical expert panel. Views expressed are personal)
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