2024-09-24 16:15:39
More and more people are suffering from strokes worldwide. A new analysis shows that we can control many risk factors ourselves.
Strokes are one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Almost 12 million people had a stroke in 2021; that’s a 70 percent increase since 1990. Deaths increased by 44 percent during this period. This is the result of a new analysis by Auckland University in New Zealand, which was published in the journal “The Lancet Neurology”.
According to the researchers, it doesn’t have to be that way. The reason: 84 percent of strokes are linked to 23 modifiable risk factors. This means there is enormous potential to change the development of stroke risk, explains the study’s co-author, Dr. Catherine Johnson. She is a senior scientist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Strokes occur when the blood supply to the brain is “suddenly” interrupted. The most common cause is a blood clot that blocks a vessel in the brain. Such a clot can originate in the brain itself or be carried to the brain via the blood from another part of the body. It is also possible that the stroke is caused by hardening of the blood vessels in the brain (arteriosclerosis). This happens when cholesterol, calcium and other substances are deposited in the artery walls. This leads to inflammatory reactions and small vascular scarring. This causes the vessel walls to become increasingly narrower and less flexible.
In addition to old age and genetics, known risk factors for strokes include high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels (e.g. in diabetes mellitus), high cholesterol levels, obesity and existing cardiovascular diseases. All of these can promote blood clots or arteriosclerosis.
The new analysis confirms these risk factors. According to the analysis, strokes increased between 1990 and 2021 in connection with:
In addition, the analysis shows the increasing influence of climate change. Strokes related to high temperatures have increased by 72 percent in the last 30 years. In addition to heat as a health risk in itself, the analysis also shows that high temperatures lead to an increase in air pollution, another known risk factor for strokes.
But that’s not all. The researchers have broken down the known risks of stroke even further. The result was 23 “modifiable” risk factors.
Risk factors that are less easily influenced include environmental pollution such as air pollution caused by fine dust, fuels or tobacco (passive smoking), very high or low temperatures or environmental toxins such as lead.
This leaves 17 risk factors that you can influence yourself and thus reduce your risk of stroke. These include:
In order to reduce your own risk of a stroke, it is important to have a balanced diet that keeps your weight, blood sugar and cholesterol levels within a healthy range. A lifestyle with plenty of exercise and as little tobacco and alcohol as possible also makes a significant contribution to positively influencing these parameters. And last but not least, preventive examinations play an important role. These can identify and treat risk factors such as high blood pressure or blood sugar. This can prevent subsequent damage to other organs such as the kidneys.