Insulin is a hormone that is normally secreted in the body by special cells located in an organ called the pancreas. The purpose of insulin is to regulate the amount of glucose, or sugar, in the blood. It accomplishes this by stimulating the body to absorb glucose and store it in the liver and muscle cells. Problems with the production or response to the hormone insulin leads to diabetes. 

Type 2 diabetes results from a combination of 2 abnormalities: 1. Resistance to insulin which stimulates the body to absorb blood sugar and 2. Inadequate insulin production to make up for this resistance. Those with type 2 diabetes typically are not dependent on daily insulin injections. Type one diabetes accounts for about 5 to 10% of all diabetes cases and is due to the destruction of special cells in the pancreas (beta cells) that produce insulin. People who have type 1 diabetes are therefore dependent upon daily insulin injections to control their blood glucose levels.

If you have had a stent placed in one of your coronary arteries or experienced a stroke or mini-stroke it is likely that your health care provider has prescribed an anti-platelet medication to help prevent recurrence of obstruction in the arteries supplying blood to your heart or brain. These medications work by blocking the action of platelets, a component of the blood that is involved in the formation of blood clots.