People diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are often at risk for strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) or small strokes, because of other health problems related to diabetes. As many as two-thirds of diabetics have high blood pressure. High cholesterol levels, especially of the LDL type, as well as irregular heart beats are also associated with a high risk of stroke. High blood sugar levels at the time of a stroke or a TIA can cause more brain damage, and diabetics who suffer a second stroke or TIA run a high risk of more brain damage.

Researchers at Erasmus Medical Center, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, looked at ways of diagnosing prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes in people who had suffered a stroke or TIA, to learn what kind of testing would be best to perform after such an event. Their study, published in the medical journal Cerebrovascular Disease in October 2013, included:

Three hundred and sixty-five sufferers or 52 percent, were diagnosed with prediabetes and 186 or 27 percent, were found to have new cases of Type 2 diabetes. More newly diagnosed diabetics were diagnosed using the two-hour postprandial (after drinking a sugary liquid) test, or by measurement of the HbA1c percentage than by the fasting blood sugar test. Most of the stroke and TIA patients diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes would not have been diagnosed by having their fasting blood sugar tested alone.
From the aforegoing results it was concluded:

would make better screening tests for prediabetes or full-blown Type 2 diabetes than fasting blood sugar levels in stroke and TIA patients.

Fasting blood sugar levels are familiar to every diabetic, because they are traditionally the standard test for diagnosing diabetes. A drop of blood is removed from the finger for the test, which can be performed easily by a handheld electronic device. The other two tests are more complicated and expensive, but more sensitive.

The HbA1c measures blood sugar in red blood cells, and tracks your control over the past 120 days. A value of 5.7 percent is considered normal and 5.7 to 6.4 percent is considered borderline. A value of 6.5 percent or higher indicates diabetes.

Postprandial blood sugar directly indicates how well your body is able to respond to taking in sugar. A normal postprandial reading is below 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L). Between 140 and 199 mg/dL (7.8 and 11 mmol/L) indicates prediabetes, and 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or over indicates diabetes.

The HbA1c and postprandial tests could replace fasting blood sugars because of their higher sensitivity. They are certainly something to consider in the case of stroke and TIA patients.

Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. By making simple changes to your daily routine, its possible to protect your heart, kidneys, eyes and limbs from the damage often caused by diabetes, and eliminate many of the complications you may already experience as well as reduce your chance of developing a stroke or a TIA.