Connection Between Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Stroke

Diabetes – Although it isn’t a deadly disease, but it can turn into one as it can give rise to many other life-threatening complications like heart disease and stroke leading to death. Wondering!!!!! Read to know more.

It might shock you, but it is true! Having diabetes and even pre-diabetes puts you at a greater risk for heart disease and stroke. However, you can reduce your risk by keeping your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol controlled, close to the recommended target numbers, i.e. to the levels suggested by diabetes experts for good health. Accomplishing your targets also can help prevent blockage of the blood vessels in your legs, a condition called peripheral arterial disease. You can reach your targets by

• Choosing foods sensibly

• Being physically active

• Taking medications, if needed

If you already have had a heart attack or a stroke, taking proper care of yourself can prevent future health problems. Diabetes is an ailment of metabolism. It is the way our bodies consume digested food for energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose - form of sugar in the blood. 

What Is The Connection Between Diabetes, Heart Disease, And Stroke?

Those who are diabetic, you are at least twice as likely who does not have diabetes to have heart disease or a stroke. Diabetic people also tend to develop heart disease or strokes at an earlier age than other people. If you are middle-aged and have type 2 diabetes, studies suggest that your chance of having a heart attack is as greater as someone without diabetes who has already had one heart attack. Women and Men do have variations in their susceptibility. Women who have not gone through menopause are generally less prone to heart disease than men. But, women of all ages with diabetes have an increased risk of heart disease. This is because diabetes abandons the protective effects of being a woman in her child-bearing years.

People with diabetes who have already had one heart attack run an even greater risk of having a second one. In addition, heart attacks in people with diabetes are more serious and more likely to death. High blood glucose levels over time can lead to increased deposits of fatty materials on the insides of the blood vessel walls. These deposits may affect blood flow that increases the chance of blockage and hardening of blood vessels (atherosclerosis).

What Are The Risk Factors For Heart Disease And Stroke In People With Diabetes?

Diabetes itself is a risk factor for stroke and heart disease. Also, majority of people with diabetes have other conditions, which increase their chance of developing heart disease and stroke. These conditions are called risk factors.

One major risk factor for heart disease and stroke is having a family history of heart disease. This means that if one or more members of your family had a heart attack at an early age (before age 55 for men or 65 for women), you may be at an increased risk.

7 Basic Yoga Tips

“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” To accomplish this, however you need to be particular about the yoga postures (asanas) and moves you follow. So, here are a few important tips you must definitely remember when doing Yoga in routine.

No matter what yoga style you choose - hatha, or vinyasa, all of them include a few key moves. Your best bet to stay safe is to work with a trained instructor who can show you the right way to do each asana. Also, people with any kind of neck, back, or joint pain problem should consult their doctors before starting a yoga routine.

Above all, don’t ever push yourself to do anything that hurts; instead tailor various poses to work for your body.

Have a look.

Tree

 While practicing balance, this classic pose works your legs and feet. Stand erect on your feet and reach down to catch your right ankle with your right hand. Pull up your foot and place the sole against your left inner thigh. Keep your hips even. Press your palms together in front of your chest. Keep in the position for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Switch sides.

Mountain

The mountain move is simple and doing it rightly can help with balance and posture. Stand erect on your toes touching each other with heels slightly apart and arms by your sides. Pull your shoulder blades down, and broaden your collarbones. Plus, keep your head straight with your shoulders, your chin parallel to the floor. Don’t tuck or arch your pelvis and lower back; these should be neutral.

Butterfly

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in. Gently bend your knees and pull your heels toward your groin to press the soles of your feet together. Reach both hands forward to hold onto your feet, or ankles. Relax your thighs so your knees drop further toward the floor. Hold the position for 1-2 minutes. Did you feel a stretch in your lower back, inner thighs, and hips?

Downward Facing Dog

This pose works for the upper body and brings a good stretch in your arms, legs, chest, and back muscles. Get on all fours, knees below hips, toes turned under, and hands a bit in front of your shoulders. Starts exhaling and straighten your legs, allowing your heels pop up from the floor. Lift your sitting bones to the sky pushing your heels toward the floor. Press your palms lightly into your mat and slowly straighten your arms as you draw your shoulder blades down. Feel the relaxation in your head, and try to keep it between your upper arms. Hold the pose for 1-3 minutes.

Plank

From downward facing dog, lower your chest forward with straight arms until they are perpendicular to the floor with the palms right under the shoulders. Widen your collarbones, pull your shoulder blades down, and look straight down at the floor. The plank pose helps you build stronger arms, wrists, and core muscles.

Upward Facing Dog

A great posture to strengthen your upper body! Simply lie on your stomach, legs straight and the tops of your feet on the floor. Bend your elbows and place your palms on the floor. Press from your hands to lift your chest and the top of your legs off the ground. Pull your belly button in toward your spine to tighten your abs. Pull your shoulder blades down your back, and lift your chest softly toward the ceiling without tensing your neck.

Reclining Spinal Twist

This twist stretches your back, hips, and neck gently. Lie flat with your arms out to the sides to form a T. Bend your right knee, and lightly set the toes of your right foot on your left knee. Now, drop the right knee over to the left side of your body keeping your shoulders flat on the floor and twisting at the low back and waist. Turn your head to the right and look down your arm at your fingers. Stay in the pose for up to 10 breaths, then switch sides.

Headache - Do I Need An Eye Check-Up?

If you have been experiencing a consistent headache for long then certainly you need a close examination for your eye. You need to get your eyes, eye nerves and the optic discs checked if you experience headache or pain in the eye. The pain can be a result of increased eye pressure in the head but there can be multiple reasons for it. 

The following blog explains the reasons of eye pain and the possible complications that can be resulted due to it.

Initially, most of us refer to a normal medical care in case of headache or eye pain. We prefer to visit the ophthalmologist or optometrist for seeking medical attention for the eye pain. But it’s not always that the eye pain is a result of an eye problem. Pain in the eye region can also be a result of headache which may give rise to a number of eye-related problems. 

Let’s first understand what causes eye strain and then we will get into the complications that can be resulted due to it. 

What is Eye Strain?

"Eyestrain" can result into eye discomfort and even headaches. Eye strain is a result of improper focusing or alignment of the eye. Headache due to eyestrain is experienced after straining eyes by working on for long periods of time on computer, reading, or doing things that need close eye attention such as sewing.

In short, doing anything using your eyes for continuous and long periods of time can certainly lead to a headache. Therefore, it becomes must to use appropriate eyeglasses to avoid the discomfort. 

 Eye-complications that can result into severe headache 

Cornea-related problems: Cornea has a rich nerve supply and that’s what makes it sensitive. That’s why a small speck of dirt in the eye causes pain. So, anything that affects the front portion of the cornea can cause pain and redness of the eye. 

Sometimes dry eyes can also result into corneal pain. So, it is must to provide proper lubrication to cornea with tears released from glands near the eye. If the lubrication is inadequate then the front part of the cornea gets directly exposed to the air which causes pain. Dry eyes often lead to redness, itchiness, burning sensations, fluctuating blurred vision. 

Eye Inflammation: Inflammation inside the eyes or in the surrounding region can also lead to pain which also results into redness and swelling of the eye. This eye condition is generally examined with the help of a microscope (slit lamp). Tumors behind the eye are more painful than the ones inside the eyes. The pain is constant and leads to forward bulging of the eye. It can also lead to loss of vision or problems with peripheral vision.

Glaucoma: Although open angle glaucoma which is common is painless but an acute attack of angle closure glaucoma causes pain, blurry vision and a firm red eye. This attack may be a result of change of light conditions for example: going from dark environment to the one with excess of light- while leaving a movie theatre. This creates pressure over the eye and requires immediate attention to lower down the pressure. Mostly a laser technique is adopted to prevent future attacks.

Optic Nerve Conditions: The optic nerves are affected with the pressure variations over the brain. They can become swollen due to high pressure over the brain and also produce double vision in case of brain tumor. Pseudotumor cerebri (also called idiopathic intracranial hypertension) is a disorder that results into high pressure in the brain where there is no tumor developed. It is found in young, overweight women causing headaches inside or behind the eyes. It may also cause temporary visual loss lasting for few seconds, blurred vision, double vision or a whooshing sound in the ears. This is examined with the help of an ophthalmoscope. 

Giant Cell Arteritis:  This headache disorder affects people above 65 years of age leading to permanent blindness if left untreated. There is no particular reason for this but inflammation of blood vessels blocks the blood flow. Generally, the primary symptom of temporal arteritis is visual loss which is sudden and painless. Other symptoms seen are headaches, tenderness of the scalp, pain or weakness of the jaw while chewing, fever, and weight loss, loss of appetite, muscle soreness, night sweats, depression etc. and feeling poorly overall. It can be diagnosed through blood tests known as C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate and a biopsy of the artery under the skin of the temple. But once it occurs, it gets difficult to get back the normal vision. 

Why Child Vaccination is Important?

According to a latest bulletin, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) said the health of Canadians is at risk due to lack of immunization. Due to this, the organization representing the country’s doctors is calling for evidence whether the school-aged children are getting vaccinated against communicable diseases and, if they aren’t, they should not be allowed to go to the school.

The news has raised a question in everybody’s mind as why there is so much emphasize on child immunization? Here’s something for you to know more about. Have a look. 

Child Immunization

No parent probably likes seeing their babies or child in tears on being given an injection. But, the fact is that vaccination is a significant step in protecting every child against a range of fatal diseases.

Immunization is fast, safe and very effective. A child who is vaccinated has a greater immunity to fight against a disease, more effectively. On the other hand, a child who isn't immunized will have a higher risk of catching the illness.

Take a look at some facts: 

• Although, the neonates are immune to many diseases because they get antibodies from their mothers, yet their vaccination is important as this immunity goes away during the first year of life.

• Before vaccines, many children died from diseases such as cough, measles, and polio that can be easily prevented from the vaccines. 

• Immunizing every child helps us to protect the health of our community, particularly those people who cannot be immunized and the small proportion of people who don’t respond to a particular vaccine.

Reasons Why Child Immunization is Crucial:

Here are the top reasons to help you understand the importance of getting your child immunized:

• Immunizations can save your child’s life 

With immunizations, your child can be protected against more serious diseases than ever before. Diseases that were known to be deadly and life-taking once have been eliminated completely primarily due to safe and effective vaccines. Polio is one such example of the great impact that vaccines had have in the United States. 

• Immunization is very safe and effective

Vaccines are given to children after careful review by doctors, and healthcare professionals. Although Vaccines involve some discomfort and may cause pain, and redness at the site of injection, but this is minimal compared to the pain and trauma of the diseases these vaccines prevent. The disease-prevention benefits of getting vaccines are much greater than the possible side effects for almost all children.

• Immunizations can save your family, time and money

A child being vaccine is equal to vaccination of the family too. Some vaccine-preventable diseases can result in prolonged disabilities and cause a financial burden because of medical bills or long-term disability care. In contrast, getting vaccinated against these diseases is a good investment and usually covered by insurance. 

• Immunization protects future generations

Vaccines have abridged and even eliminated several diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few generations ago. For instance, smallpox vaccination eliminated that disease worldwide. The children are no more required to get smallpox shots anymore because the disease no longer exists. By immunizing children against German measles, the risk that pregnant women will pass this virus on to their fetus or newborn has been dramatically decreased. 

Conclusion:

Vaccination is the single most significant way parents can protect their children from serious ailments. This makes the decision to immunize your child very crucial, especially since there are no effective alternatives to immunization.