Preventing stroke

Figures from the World Health Organization show that there are 15 million cases of stroke annually. In 5 million of these cases, the result is premature death, and another 5 million sufferers are left permanently disabled.

In the UK, stroke is a major cause of premature mortality, accounting for one in twenty deaths under the age of 75. It is estimated that around 1.1m people in the UK are living with the consequences of having had a stroke.

(Source: Stroke Statistics 2009) http://www.heartstats.org/datapage.asp?id=8615

The INTERSTROKE study, published in The Lancet (July 2010), suggests that 10 key risk factors are attributable as causes for over 90% of strokes worldwide.These 10 key risk factors (in order with greatest first) are:

• Hypertension

• Smoking

• Waist-to-hip ratio (abdominal obesity)

• Poor diet

• Lack of regular physical activity

• Diabetes

• Alcohol intake

• Psychosocial factors (including stress and depression)

• Other cardiac causes (such as acute myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation and atrial myxoma)

• Ratio of apolipoproteins (proteins that combine with cholesterol and triglyceride to form lipoproteins)
   

Smoking doubles the risk of suffering a stroke. Alcohol consumption, a high salt diet and weight gain all contribute to raised blood pressure which is the leading risk factor for stroke. Poor diet increases the risk of fatty deposits or clots in the delicate blood vessels of the brain. Regular physical activity protects against stroke in different ways: by lowering blood pressure, balancing the fats in the blood and helping the body to handle insulin.  

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