Reducing your risk
If you have diabetes you will need to keep a tight control over your blood glucose levels. Check your blood or urine for glucose regularly to make sure it stays at a healthy level. Persistently high levels of blood glucose are a sign that your diabetes is not properly controlled and you may need to adjust your diet and/or medication or insulin. You should aim to keep your blood pressure as low as possible. Doctors now recommend that people with diabetes should have a lower level of blood pressure than those without diabetes. Ideally, your blood pressure should be 140/80 or lower.The self-help steps below may be enough to keep your blood pressure under control, but you may also need drug treatment with antihypertensive (blood pressure lowering) medication. Reducing your cholesterol levels may also help reduce your risk of stroke, as well as other conditions such as heart disease. For some, this may be achieved through eating a diet low in saturated fats. However, for others this may not be adequate, and they may require medication to lower their cholesterol. It’s also important to attend regular check-ups with the doctor to ensure both your blood glucose and blood pressure stay at a healthy level. Most people will need to attend a diabetes clinic at least once a year.
Helping yourself
- Take regular exercise. As well as helping to lower blood pressure, exercise can help keep blood glucose levels better-controlled, lower levels of cholesterol and help control weight.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet. Eating little and often prevents fluctuations in blood glucose levels. The best diet is one that is low in salt, fat and sugar and based around foods that convert slowly to energy, such as complex carbohydrates – wholegrains, beans, lentils, vegetables and fruit.
- Control your weight. Excess weight can increase blood pressure, so it’s important to try to shed any excess pounds and maintain a healthy weight. Weight loss also helps improve the body’s ability to respond to insulin and helps control glucose levels.
- Don’t smoke. Smoking damages blood vessels that may already be damaged as a result of diabetes. Smoking is also linked to higher blood pressure.
- Drink moderately. Although a small amount of alcohol may be beneficial, too much alcohol (especially if you drink a large amount in one go) can raise blood pressure dramatically to very high levels. Stick to safe drinking limits of two to three units a day for women and three to four units for men. A unit is a half pint of beer, a small glass of wine or a single pub measure of spirits.
(published with permission in writing from:http://www.stroke.org.uk)
