Blood sugar control has always been important for people with diabetes when it comes to preventing a stroke.
In a new study from Seoul National University, researchers found for people with diabetes who have a stroke, there may be an ideal target blood sugar range to lower the risk of different types of vascular diseases like a stroke or heart attack later on.
They found that there is an optimal blood sugar level that may start to minimize the risk of having another stroke, a heart attack or other vascular problems, and it’s right in the 6.8% to 7.0% range.
In the study, the team tested 18,567 people with diabetes with an average age of 70. All participants were admitted to the hospital for an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot.
Upon admission, researchers used a test called the hemoglobin A1C to determine people’s average blood sugar level over the past two to three months. This test measures a percentage of hemoglobin proteins in the blood coated with sugar.
A level below 5.7% is considered normal; 6.5% or higher generally indicates diabetes. The participants had an average A1C of 7.5%.
Researchers then followed up one year later to find out if there was an association between A1C levels with the risk of having another stroke, a heart attack, or dying from these or other vascular causes.
They found that people admitted to the hospital with A1C levels above the 6.8% to 7.0% range had an increased risk of having a vascular event like a heart attack, as well as having another stroke.
Further analyses showed people’s risk for a heart attack or similar vascular diseases was 27% greater when they were admitted to the hospital with A1C levels above 7.0%, compared to those admitted with A1C levels below 6.5%.
People’s risk for having another stroke was 28% greater when admitted to the hospital with A1C levels above 7.0%, compared to those below 6.5%.
The findings highlight the importance of keeping a close eye on your blood sugar if you’re diabetic and have had a stroke.
If you care about blood sugar health, please read studies about this widely used pain drug may cause low blood sugar and findings of this high-protein plant may help improve blood sugar.
For more information about blood sugar control, please see recent studies about drink coffee after breakfast, not before, for better blood sugar control and results showing that blood sugar problems may increase liver disease.
The study is published in Neurology. One author of the study is Moon-Ku Han, MD, Ph.D.
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