The silent killer – high blood pressure
If you could choose only one risk factor for stroke, it would undoubtedly be hypertension. Although hypertension can be inherited, most people with hypertension have a combination of causes. As we have seen, hypertension hardens the walls of the arteries and reduces their elasticity. This makes the heart have to work twice as hard to keep enough blood flowing through the vessels. And the pressure in the small arteries increases, preventing blood from passing through. As a result, less blood enters the small arteries, and a stroke can occur. Hypertension is a deadly disease, and what’s worse is that hypertension has no symptoms; it’s a true silent killer. People often don’t feel it until one day a stroke occurs. There is now a growing recognition of the importance of early detection of hypertension. Studies have found that successful treatment of hypertension can reduce the risk of stroke by 40%.
How do you know you have high blood pressure?
You have hypertension if your blood pressure exceeds 140/90 mmHg on two different measurements at different times. Low/diastolic blood pressure, the level of which is very important, and increased diastolic blood pressure is most strongly associated with stroke. But high pressure/systolic pressure, which is elevated (over 160 mmHg), is also a risk factor that needs to be treated. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor will put you on the appropriate medication and you must follow your doctor’s instructions to the letter. There is only one reason why medications fail to treat high blood pressure: people stop taking their antihypertensive medications.
The age factor
High blood pressure can be treated, but there are risk factors that are beyond control, such as age. As we age, arteries become hardened and weakened, and their elasticity decreases. The heavier the hardening, the more the arteries will clog. If this occurs in the brain, a stroke can occur. In fact, it has recently been increasingly recognized that the risk of developing a stroke doubles every 10 years from age 55 onwards.
Diabetes
At first glance, diabetes may not seem to be associated with stroke, and you may not realize that it is very closely related to stroke. In fact, diabetes can affect circulation, and impaired circulation can in turn affect blood vessels, especially the small vessels in the eyes. So in severe cases of diabetes, it can cause bleeding in the fundus of the eye and even blindness. Likewise, diabetes can trigger bleeding from damage to small blood vessels in the brain, leading to stroke. Diabetes can also accelerate the process of atherosclerosis.
It has been found in clinical studies that
The risk of stroke is three times higher in diabetic patients than in non-diabetic patients.
Diabetics have a 2-fold increased risk than patients without the disease who have hypertension.
About 42% of stroke patients have diabetes mellitus.
The combination of diabetes and hypertension is common.
Diabetics are more likely to be obese and have higher cholesterol.
Cholesterol levels
Cholesterol is a wax-like substance produced by the body and is a natural and necessary substance for our bodies. However, too much of this good thing can become a bad thing. The body can produce cholesterol and many foods also contain high levels of cholesterol, such as meat, eggs, cream, cheese, etc.
Cholesterol is transported in the bloodstream in the form of lipoproteins, which are made by the liver, just like transport trucks carry fat. Most of the lipoproteins that play a role are low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Once the body has taken in as much as it needs, LDL keeps building up and has nowhere to go, and eventually, excess LDL collects in the walls of the arteries and blocks the blood vessels. This is why LDL is called “bad cholesterol”.
In addition to LDL, it is joined by the “good cholesterol” high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which transports cholesterol back to the liver for processing. HDL acts as a cleaner, helping to remove excess LDL and removing lipids from artery walls. The risk of high cholesterol comes from the amount of LDL in the blood. Cholesterol has long been thought to increase the risk of heart disease, but until recently, cholesterol was not considered a risk factor for stroke. Recent studies have shown that lowering cholesterol can prevent stroke. Newer statin drugs lower LDL cholesterol by 23 to 42%, which can reduce the risk of stroke by 29%.
In conclusion, cholesterol levels, especially LDL cholesterol, must be monitored. The current recommendation is to keep your cholesterol level below 200 mg/dl. If your LDL exceeds 130mg/dl, you will have to take a statin. Elevated cholesterol levels can be lowered by eating a low-fat diet, taking cholesterol-lowering medications, and exercising regularly.
History of heart disease
This makes a lot of sense. If you have heart disease, you are potentially at risk for brain disease. Remember: blood clots can come from the heart and travel down the bloodstream to the brain – blocking arteries in the brain and causing strokes.
Normally our heart beats very regularly. But as we age, it may beat in a very fast, irregular rhythm called atrial fibrillation. When rapid atrial fibrillation occurs, a blood clot can come off the wall of the heart at any time and embolize in a blood vessel in the brain by following the blood flow. About 4 to 18% of patients with atrial fibrillation have a stroke. Anticoagulants can significantly reduce the risk of stroke.
Smoking
Bad effects of smoking.
Long-term smoking can damage the artery walls;
Narrowing of the arteries in the brain;
Reduces blood oxygenation;
Affects circulation.
Smoking has one main characteristic, it is the most preventable of all stroke risk factors. Stop smoking and your body will be back to normal within 3 years.
Although smoking is harmful to circulation and blood supply, it is associated with both hypertension and heart disease, and studies have shown that the risk of stroke is 1 to 3 times greater in smokers than in nonsmokers, many people still smoke. It is estimated that 61,000 patients per year would be prevented from having a stroke if they quit smoking.