Studies have found that the excess risk of stroke associated with diabetes is significantly higher in women than men, mainly because women live longer than men and strokes occurs more often at older ages. Additionally, women with diabetes have an increased risk of strokes because diabetes cancels out the protective effects of estrogen during child-bearing years. Women who have gone through menopause usually have more risk of strokes than men of the same age. After the age of 55, stroke risk doubles for every decade a person is alive.
Diabetes is a disorder of the way our bodies use digested food for energy. It develops when the pancreas does not make enough insulin (a natural hormone); or the cells in the muscles, liver, and fat do not use insulin properly, or both. Over time, high blood glucose levels damage nerves and blood vessels, leading to complications such as stroke.
The interdisciplinary approach offered by My Rehab Team connects you and your clinicians together to provide you co-ordinated and holistic advice and management from diet to exercise to foot care and more. Call us today on 1300469734 for your free telephone consultation with a clinician.
[Online] Available in:
http://uk.univadis.com/2065/Pages/Detailed.aspx?contentid=1357263&BackTo=Home (Accessed on 4 May, 2014)
http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.3484041/k.D80A/Heart_disease__Women_and_heart_disease_and_stroke.htm (Accessed on 12 May, 2014)
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/stroke/#what (Accessed on 4 May, 2014)
http://www.stroke.org/site/PageNavigator/HOME (Accessed on 4 May, 2014)
Image courtesy of Vampy1 at dreams time. [Online] Available at: http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-brain-anatomy-human-body-gear-ideas-man-data-processing-gears-image36646126 (Accessed on 25 May, 2014)
