Changes in temperature could be linked to fluctuations in stroke risk.
"Weather is not something people would typically associate with stroke risk; however, we've found weather conditions are among the multiple factors that are associated with stroke hospitalizations," Judith H. Lichtman, Ph.D., M.P.H., study author and an associate professor in Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health said in an American Heart Association news release.
Researchers looked at 134,510 people from a national sample that were 18 years of age and older and had been admitted to the hospital due to an ischemic stroke (a stroke caused by blockage of blood flow leading to the brain); they compared that information with dew point (air moisture) and temperature data from the same timeframe.
The team found larger temperature and dew point changes were linked with a higher risk of stroke.The researchers also found "lower average annual temperatures" were also linked to an increased risk of stroke. For every temperature increase of one-degree Fahrenheit there was a 0.86 percent decrease in risk of hospitalization from stroke and a 1.1 percent decrease in risk of death from stroke.
"This study suggests that meteorological factors such as daily fluctuations in temperature and increased humidity may be stressors that increase stroke hospitalizations," Lichtman said. "People at risk for stroke may want to avoid being exposed to significant temperature changes and high dew point and, as always, be prepared to act quickly if they or someone they know experiences stroke signs and symptoms."
"Future research is needed to better understand the cause and effect of changes in weather conditions, as well as to explore potential mechanisms for this association," she said.
Additional stroke risk factors include: "high blood pressure; cigarette smoking; diabetes; carotid or other artery disease; peripheral artery disease; atrial fibrillation; other heart disease; sickle cell disease; high blood cholesterol; poor diet; physical inactivity; obesity; and excessive alcohol consumption," the news release reported.
Symptoms of stroke include: " facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, sudden numbness or weakness of the leg, arm or face, sudden confusion or trouble understanding, sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes, sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, and sudden severe headache with no known cause," the news release reported.
