When it comes to your health, be ahead

of the game – your body will thank you!

1

Reduce your

stroke risk

Get clued in about the

connection between

type 2 and stroke

Feel

5

BETTER

IN

● Reduce the “bad” (LDL)

cholesterol levels, and

raise the “good” (HDL)

cholesterol in your blood

● Improve your blood

glucose control

● Quit smoking

● Manage your weight

● Manage stress

● Increase the amount of

physical activity you do (see

page 80 for some handy tips)

● Thin your blood with

medication (on the advice of

your care team).

Clinical studies

suggest by making

these changes, you

can cut your stroke

risk by more than

two thirds.

As many as one in eight people

with type 2 diabetes will have

a stroke sometime in their

lifetime, says Professor Merlin

Thomas, clinical scientist from

the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes

Institute, in his new book

Understanding Type 2 Diabetes

(Exisle Publishing, $19.99).

Being aware of the risk factors

and making healthy lifestyle

tweaks can help protect you

against stroke – and give your

diabetes management a kick

at the same time!

What are the

risk factors?

Professor Thomas says that the

five major stroke risk factors for

someone with type 2 are:

● Age – the older you are,

the higher your risk

● High blood glucose

levels (BGLs)

● High blood pressure

● High cholesterol

● Having atheroscelerosis

(blockage to the blood vessels

supplying your brain) in areas

like the heart or legs.

How can

I reduce

my risk?

Slice your stroke

risk with these

stay-safe solutions

from Professor

Thomas:

● Reduce your

systolic blood

pressure and

its variability

Understanding

Type 2 Diabetes is

now available at

exislepublishing.

com.au

120 JULY/AUGUST 2017 diabetic living

GOOD advice