Lowering your chance of having a stroke if you have diabetes

When you have diabetes, you have a greater chance of having a stroke. People who have diabetes are two to four times more likely to have a stroke than people who do not have the disease, according to the National Stroke Association. They also tend to develop heart disease or have strokes at an earlier age.

Know the risks

If you have diabetes, you already have an increased risk of having a stroke. Your risk is even greater if:

• you are older than 55
• you are African American
• you’ve already had a stroke or a mini-stroke
• you have a family history of stroke or mini-stroke
• you have heart disease
• you have high blood pressure
• you are overweight
• you have high bad (LDL) cholesterol and low good (HDL) cholesterol levels
• you are not physically active
• you smoke

BE FASTT

Stroke is an emergency. It’s important for you, your family and your friends to know the signs of someone having a stroke – just remember BE FASTT:

• Balance: Do they have a sudden loss of balance?
• Eyes: Do they have a sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes?
• Facial droop: When they smile, does one side of their face droop?
• Arm drift: When they raise both arms, does one arm drift downward?
• Slurred speech: When they repeat a sentence, are any of the words slurred?
• Terrible headache: Do they have a sudden, severe headache with other neurological deficits?
• Time is key: If a person shows any of the above symptoms, call 911.

What can you do?

You have control over some of these risk factors. It’s important to take steps to keep your heart and blood vessels healthy to lower your risk of having a stroke.

You can lower your chances of having a stroke by quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, being physically active and limiting alcohol.

Talk to your doctor about other ways to reduce your chance of having a stroke and to keep your diabetes under control.

To learn more about diabetes, go to www.parklandhospital.com/diabtesfacts.