A new study promotes life’s simple seven to combat stroke: get active, control cholesterol, eat better, manage blood pressure, lose weight, reduce blood sugar, and stop smoking.
Dr. Mary Cushman, lead author of the study and professor of medicine at the University of Vermont in Burlington, and her team tested the effectiveness of American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s recommendation by analyzing the medical records of almost 30,239 Americans aged 45 and above.
The team computed for the risk factor of their subjects based on the medical records from 2003 to 2009. They also did phone interviews, questionnaires, and in-home examination. The researchers looked for the health conditions that are related to the simple seven lifestyle changes such as blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, body mass index, smoking, diet, and physical activity. Each health factor was measured by numbers with 0 point for poor, 1 point for intermediate, and 2 points for ideal.
The overall seven health factors were then categorized to measure general effectiveness: zero to four points for poor, five to nine points for normal, and 10 to 14 points for best heart health. They wanted to know which among the seven lifestyle changes is the most effective and the level for each factors. They also classified the subjects to black and white Americans to see if racial differences may be an additional factor to risk.
After reviewing all the data they have, they found out that 432 incidents of stroke occurred on 75 percent of the subjects with no previous cardiovascular disease during the five-year period. This was epic fail on the early part of the study.
The researchers then considered other factors that may have caused these incidents such as the gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, and location of residence. After another analysis, their findings revealed that each suggested simple seven lifestyle changes can effectively cut the risk to stroke by up to 25 percent. It doesn’t also matter whether someone is black or white as the value will be the same.
This report was published on the June 6 issue of the online journal Stroke.
