Stroke is a leading global cause of death or disability. Each year, approximately 7,500 Irish people have a stroke and around 2,000 of these people die.
A recent study from the National University of Ireland found that one in 11 stroke survivors experienced a period of anger or upset in the hour leading up to it.
One in 20 patients had engaged in heavy physical exertion.
The suspected triggers have been identified as part of the global INTERSTROKE study—the largest research project of its kind.
In the study, the team analyzed 13,462 cases of acute stroke, involving patients with a range of ethnic backgrounds in 32 countries. The average age of patients in the study was 62.
The research analyzed patterns in patients who suffered an ischemic stroke—the most common type of stroke, which occurs when a blood clot blocks or narrows an artery leading to the brain, and also intracerebral hemorrhage—which is less common and involves bleeding within the brain tissue itself.
The team found that anger or emotional upset was linked to an approximately 30% increase in the risk of stroke one hour after an episode—with a greater increase if the patient did not have a history of depression.
They also found that heavy physical exertion was linked to an approximately 60% increase in risk is of intracerebral hemorrhage during one hour after the episode of heavy exertion.
There was a greater increase for women and less risk for those with a normal BMI. The study also concluded that there was no increase in exposure to both triggers of anger and heavy physical exertion.
The team says the message is for people to practice mental and physical wellness at all ages.
But it is also important for some people to avoid heavy physical exertion, particularly if they are at high risk of cardiovascular, while also adopting a healthy lifestyle of regular exercise.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about doing this after stroke is critical for long-term survival and this cholesterol in body can predict stroke, heart attack effectively.
For more information about stroke, please see recent studies about how Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and MIND diet could slow down cognitive decline after stroke.
The study was published in the European Heart Journal and conducted by Professor Andrew Smyth et al.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
