Stroke
Diabetes Often Leads to Stroke. Infact the risk of Stoke for people with diabetes is 2 to 4 times higher. The connection between diabetes and stroke is caused by the way the body handles blood glucose to make energy. The food we eat is broken down into glucose to give us energy. Glucose enters the bloodstream and travels to cells throughout the body after food is digested. In order for glucose to actually enter cells and provide energy, it needs insulin. It is the pancreas’s job to produce insulin in the right amounts. In people who have diabetes, the pancreas does not make insulin, or it makes very little insulin or the cells in the muscles, liver and fat don’t use insulin the right way. What happens then is people with diabetes end up with too much glucose in their blood, while their cells don’t get enough energy. Over time, this glucose can lead to a high rate of fatty deposits or clots on the insides of the blood vessel walls. These clots can narrow or block the blood vessels in the brain or neck, cutting off the blood supply, stopping oxygen from getting to the brain and causing a stroke.