Showing posts with label stroke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stroke. Show all posts
NSAIDS Linked To Heart Attack Stroke
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Earlier this year, a study in the American Heart Associations journal Circulation reported an increased risk of heart attack with use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in healthy individuals (over 1 million individuals included in the analysis).1 It wasnt the first study to find this risk with NSAIDS; however, prior studies looked at those who had heart disease or were at increased risk for it, not apparently healthy people.Last month at the European Society of Cardiologys 2010 Congress, the same authors reported an increased risk for stroke with use of NSAIDS in a similar large and healthy Danish population. Speaking to Heartwire, Dr. Gunnar Gislason, one of the authors said:
"This is very serious, as these drugs are very widely used, with many available over the counter. ... We need to get the message out to healthcare authorities that these drugs need to be regulated more caully."Gislason thinks NSAIDS need better management, perring they not be available without a prescription:
"If half the population takes these drugs, even on an occasional basis, then this could be responsible for a 50% to 100% increase in stroke risk. It is an enormous effect."Examples of NSAIDS currently available in the US without prescription are ibuprofen (e.g. Motrin and Advil) and naproxen (Aleve). Diclofenac (e.g. Voltaren and Cataflam), celecoxib (Celebrex), and rofecoxib (Vioxx, now withdrawn) are NSAIDS that require a prescription.
Mechanism
NSAIDS are thought to increase cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk via:
- Increased coagulative effect, with risk of thrombus.
- Increased bleeding, especially associated with stroke.
- Increased blood pressure. (This is an effect of all NSAIDS.)2
- Adverse effects on kidneys. (NSAIDS can lead to sodium and water retention, and a decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR).)3
1 Cause-Specific Cardiovascular Risk Associated With Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs Among Healthy Individuals, Circulation, 2010
2 NSAIDs, Coxibs, and Cardio-Renal Physiology: A Mechanism-Based Evaluation: Coxibs and Hypertension, Medscape, 2002
3 Renal Effects Of Cyclooxygyenase-2-Selective Inhibitors, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2002
"[NSAIDS] are associated with adverse renal effects caused by the reduction in synthesis of renal prostaglandins through inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX)."
White Fleshed Fruits and Vegetables Cut Stroke Risk in Half
Monday, March 17, 2014
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America, affecting nearly one million people and taking the lives of 150,000 each year. Researchers publishing in the American Heart Association journalStroke have found that increased consumption of white fleshy vegetables and fruits such as apples and pears leads to a dramatic decline in both incidence and death from a stroke.
This study is the first to differentiate between different colors in fruits and vegetables and the risk for developing a specific disease or illness. Beneficial phytochemicals such as carotenoids and flavonoids found in the white flesh and skin of apples and pears can dramatically lower your risk of suffering the devastating physical damage caused by a stroke.
Apples and Pears Can Cut Stroke Risk by More Than Fifty Percent
Nutrition scientists have long known that the brightly colored skin and flesh of fruits and vegetables confer the health benefits normally associated with eating these foods. To further examine this link, researchers examined the relationship between fruit and vegetable color group consumption and contrasted with 10-year stroke incidence in a cohort of 20,069 adults, with an average age of 41. Participants were disease free at the outset of the study and were asked to complete a 178-item food frequency questionnaire detailing foods consumed over the past year.
Fruit and vegetable consumption was broken into four distinct groups, based on pigment color: Green, including dark leafy vegetables, orange/yellow, mostly citrus fruits, red/purple, mostly red vegetables and white, of which 55 percent were apples and pears. Follow up proceeded for a period of ten years during which time 233 strokes were confirmed. Green, orange/yellow and red/purple varieties of fruits and vegetables were found to have no correlation to stroke incidence.
Fruits and Vegetables of All Colors Needed to Lower Disease Risk
White fleshed fruits and vegetables demonstrated a 52% lower incidence of stroke over the ten-year period when those consuming the highest amounts were compared to the group with the lowest intake. The researchers found that each 25 gram per day increase in white fruits and vegetable consumption was associated with a 9 percent lower risk of stroke (the average apple is 120 grams).
The lead study author from Wageningen University in the Netherlands concluded“To prevent stroke, it may be useful to consume considerable amounts of white fruits and vegetables… For example, eating one apple a day is an easy way to increase white fruits and vegetable intake.” Apples and pears are high in a nutrient known as quercetin and fiber that may convey part of the stroke risk reduction. It`s critical to eat a diet packed with fruits and vegetables of all colors to take advantage of the unique disease-fighting characteristics to be uncovered for a multitude of different carotenoids and flavonoids in future research studies.
Frequent exercise can lower the risk of stroke
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Frequent exercise can lower the risk of stroke - Frequent exercise to sweat is known to lower the risk of stroke in middle-aged to elderly, according to recent research. Compared to people who never exercise, people who work up a sweat at lower risk.
"A healthy diet, a healthy weight, exercising regularly and avoiding bad habits like smoking and drinking alcohol can reduce the risk of stroke by 80 percent. Meanwhile, the most important aspect of the exercise is to be done," said study author Michelle McDonnell, as reported by U.S. News.
According to McDonnell, exercise can reduce the risk of stroke by boosting blood vessel health. Indirectly it also lowers the risk of high blood pressure and obesity.
This study was conducted with 27,000 people following the Americans starting in 2003 to 2007. Participants were aged 45 years or older at the start of the study and had no history of stroke never experienced before. During this study several cases of stroke occurred in participants.
Approximately 3.1 percent of those who diligently exercise group experienced a stroke, compared with 3.3 percent of people who only exercise one to three times a week, and 3.6 percent in the group that did not exercise.
After making observations and statistics by eliminating other factors, researchers found that a group of people who exercise often have a 20 percent lower risk of stroke than those who never exercise.
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"A healthy diet, a healthy weight, exercising regularly and avoiding bad habits like smoking and drinking alcohol can reduce the risk of stroke by 80 percent. Meanwhile, the most important aspect of the exercise is to be done," said study author Michelle McDonnell, as reported by U.S. News.
According to McDonnell, exercise can reduce the risk of stroke by boosting blood vessel health. Indirectly it also lowers the risk of high blood pressure and obesity.
This study was conducted with 27,000 people following the Americans starting in 2003 to 2007. Participants were aged 45 years or older at the start of the study and had no history of stroke never experienced before. During this study several cases of stroke occurred in participants.
Approximately 3.1 percent of those who diligently exercise group experienced a stroke, compared with 3.3 percent of people who only exercise one to three times a week, and 3.6 percent in the group that did not exercise.
After making observations and statistics by eliminating other factors, researchers found that a group of people who exercise often have a 20 percent lower risk of stroke than those who never exercise.
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