People with diabetes need to control their blood sugar levels to, among other things, prevent a stroke. Now, a new study published in the journal Neurology finds that for these people there may be an ideal blood sugar range that would help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
“We know that having diabetes may be associated with an increased risk of having a stroke,” explains study author Moon-Ku Hande from the Seoul National University School of Medicine in Korea. “But our results indicate that there is an optimal blood sugar level that can begin to minimize the risk of another stroke, heart attack or other vascular problems, and it is right in the range of 6.8% to 7.0. % “.
The study involved 18,567 people with diabetes with an average age of 70 years. All the participants were admitted to the hospital for an ischemic stroke, caused by a blood clot. Upon admission, the researchers used a test called 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 sugar-coated blood. A level below 5.7% is considered normal; 6.5% or more generally indicates diabetes. The participants had an average A1C of 7.5%.
Follow-up one year later
Over the next year, the researchers followed up to find out if there was an association between A1C levels and the risk of having another stroke, a heart attack, or dying from these or other vascular causes. Of all the participants, about 8% suffered a heart attack or died of vascular disease and 5% suffered another stroke.
The study 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 such as a heart attack, in addition to having another stroke.
After adjusting for factors such as age and gender, the researchers found that people’s risk of heart attack or similar vascular diseases was 27% higher when they were admitted to the hospital with A1C levels above 7.0%. compared to those admitted with A1C levels lower than 6.5%. . People’s risk of having another stroke was 28% higher when they were admitted to the hospital with A1C levels above 7.0%, compared with those below 6.5%.
“Our findings highlight the importance of closely monitoring your blood sugar level if you are diabetic and have had a stroke,” Han said. One limitation of the study is that people’s blood sugar levels were measured only at the beginning. of the study; no follow-up levels were available.
