Posts Tagged ‘heart disease’

They say that “every rose has its thorn” and glam rocker Bret Michaels has been feeling the pain lately. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at six years old, he has done more than manage his disease. He has blown it out of the water. He embraced everything a rocker lifestyle has to offer – the good, the bad and the ugly – and showed the world that living with diabetes is just another way of life. In fact, most of his fans didn’t even know he had diabetes, until his first concert at Madison Square Garden where he went out on stage pumped and ready and woke up later in a hospital room recovering from diabetic shock. After passing out on stage, to assuage rumors of drug overdose, he came clean and told everybody about his diabetes.

Time goes on, and to his credit, he embraced his celebrity and officially became one of the American Diabetes Associations’ favorite people. After becoming a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice he brought a national spotlight to the cause and raised $100,000 for diabetes camps in the very first episode.

Then, the trouble began. After a life threatening brain hemorrhage, his road to recovery – while quite impressive – hit yet another road bump. This road bump is quite familiar to many with diabetes. He had a stroke. Actually, he had a transient ischemic attack (TIA), or a warning stroke. Perhaps trying to endear himself to the American Heart Association, whose campaign this month is to recognize stroke symptoms, he was readmitted to the hospital with numbness on one side. They also found that he has a hole in his heart.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is the uglier side of diabetes. It’s a fact that diabetes contributes to a higher incidence of stroke and heart disease. While the link has not been confirmed with Michaels, there’s probably a pretty good chance that it will be.

Diabetes is not something to mess around with. If you have it, monitor it very carefully. If you’re not sure if you have it, get tested to find out. Michaels’ proclaimed “wild and crazy” life cannot have contributed positively to his health. Careful monitoring of blood sugar, glucose and hemoglobin along with positive diet and exercise decisions will significantly improve your chances of living a long and healthy life as a diabetic. Although Michaels has adopted this lifestyle now, could the years of abusing his body be catching up to him?

He seems to be getting a second and third chance to make changes. Many diabetics don’t get that luxury. Diabetes leads to heart disease and stroke. Monitor it well and make choices now because you may not get a second chance.

http://forecast.diabetes.org/magazine/only-online/rocker-bret-michaels-tackles-diabetes-celebrity-apprentice