Strokes, which typically occur when a blocked blood vessel cuts blood flow to the brain, are the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States. But up to 80 percent of strokes are preventable by leading a healthy lifestyle that includes not smoking, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in salt, exercising regularly, drinking moderately or not at all, and carefully managing chronic diseases like diabetes.
Deaths due to stroke have declined (it was once the third-leading cause of U.S. deaths), yet as the population ages the number of people having strokes is expected to rise. Don’t be one of those people.
1. Control blood pressure
High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for stroke, according to the National Stroke Association. When pressure is high, the heart pumps harder to move blood through your body, weakening vessel walls and organs. It is called the “silent killer” because symptoms of high blood pressure are not obvious. An optimal blood pressure reading for adults is 120/80. The first number is for systolic pressure, the force of blood against vessel walls when the heart is pumping. The second number is for diastolic pressure, the blood’s force on vessels when the heart is resting between beats. A high-sodium diet, drinking excessively, and being overweight all contribute to hypertension, health experts say.
2. Use painkillers sparingly
A recent study of stroke victims and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have some experts offering the same recommendation they give people with established heart disease: Use the medication at its lowest dose and for the shortest time needed to relieve pain. The study, published in the medical journal Stroke, looked at 38,000 Taiwanese adults who had a stroke during one year and their use of the drugs the month before, compared with their use in the prior three to six months. While the findings don’t prove the medications caused the strokes, the use of the drugs may have elevated stroke risk, researchers said. The drugs used included aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and prescription arthritis drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors.
3. Eat more fish
Fish lovers are less likely to have a stroke. That’s the conclusion of a study published this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that found that women who ate more than three servings of fish a week were 16 percent less likely to have a stroke compared with women who ate less than one. The findings support similar results of other studies on stroke and fishy diets. Fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, including salmon, mackerel, and albacore tuna, are best choices because the substances may reduce blood pressure and blood-fat concentrations that increase stroke risk. (But be sure not to fry the fish, which can rob it of its beneficial fats, health experts say.)
4. Nix the meat
A recent study of 30,000 Swedish women found that those who ate at least 3.6 ounces of red meat a day were 42 percent more likely to suffer a cerebral infarction — a stroke due to blocked blood flow in the brain — compared to women who ate just less than an ounce. Eating more processed meat, which is high in sodium, also put women at a greater risk for this kind of stroke, according to the study. Those who consumed the most, 1.5 ounces a day, had a 24 percent higher risk than those who consumed less than half an ounce a day, the least amount. Researchers noted that both types of meat have been tied to high blood pressure, the main risk factor for stroke.
5. Walk off the risk
Reduce your stroke risk one step at a time. A study of 39,000 healthy women 45 and older found that those who walked two or more hours a week had a lower risk of stroke than those who walked less than two hours a week. The most active women were 17 percent less likely to have a stroke, compared with the least active. And those who walked more than two hours per week were 30 percent less apt to suffer a stroke than those who didn’t walk at all.
"More active people generally demonstrate a 25 to 30 percent lower risk of stroke," Jacob Sattelmair, the study's lead researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health, told Reuters Health.
No comments:
Post a Comment