26 million Americans have diabetes, and more than half are younger than 65. The longer you have diabetes, the higher your risk for stroke. Compared to people without diabetes (after considering other factors such as age, smoking history, physical activity, history of heart disease, blood pressure and cholesterol), the risk of stroke increased 70% in people with diabetes for less than 5 years, 80% in people with diabetes for 5-10 years and three-fold in people with diabetes for 10 years or more.
American Heart Association, March 2012
