Stroke Risk Factors - OmniMedicalSearch.com

Conditions & Diseases: Brain & Nervous System

Stroke

Stroke Risk Factors

A stroke is a medical emergency that requires attention due to its debilitating effects. It can affect people of all ages, but the risk increases with age. The risk of stroke can be increased by certain medical conditions, life style factors and heredity.

The risk factors can be divided into two categories:
I. Controllable factors.
II. Uncontrollable factors.

I. Controllable factors include those factors that can be controlled with medication or diet (medical conditions), or simply changing the lifestyle habits and choices. The controllable factors are divided into two categories:

1. Medical conditions that can be treated:

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure). High blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. The risk of stroke increases 4 to 6 time when the person has high blood pressure.
The blood pressure measures the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. When the blood pressure is high, the heart has to pump harder to move the blood through the body, which leads to weak blood vessels and damage to major organs in the body. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 or below, while a blood pressure reading of 140/90 and above is considered high blood pressure (or hypertension).
Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a medical condition where the heart beats irregularly because the two upper chambers of the heart beat rapidly and unpredictably. Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke up to 6 times because the heart does not fully pump the blood out, which pools the heart. When the blood pools in the heart, the risk of blood clots to form is very high. Once formed, these blood clots will travel through the bloodstream into the brain obstructing a blood vessel.
Cardiovascular disease. Several cardiovascular diseases such as coronary disease (a disease of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle; the arteries become hardened and narrow because of a plaque build-up; the plaque is a mixture of fatty deposits), peripheral artery disease (a disease where the blood vessels that carry blood to leg and arm muscles narrows), carotid artery stenosis (a disease that affects the carotid arteries from the neck area that supplies the brain with blood; the carotid arteries become narrow because of fatty deposits build-ups), congestive heart failure (a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood to the organs), heart attacks (a medical condition that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted), endocarditis (an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart), aortic and mitral valve disease, valve replacement, dilated cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart) can also increase the risk for stroke.
Diabetes. Diabetes is a medical condition where the body either does not produce enough insulin, or the insulin is not properly used. This disease is another major risk of stroke, because the body can't properly process sugar (the basic fuel of the body's cells) and fats. Diabetes also leads to other medical complications such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and obesity or excessive weight. Diabetes interferes with the body's ability to break down blood clots, which leads to an increased risk of ischemic strokes. In general, those that suffer from diabetes have a 2 to 4 times the risk of stroke than the non-diabetic population.
High cholesterol. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance produced by the liver and is used in different functions essential for the body. If present in high amounts, cholesterol builds up in the veins and clogs them (a condition called atherosclerosis). The build-up of plaque inside the artery causes the walls to loss their elasticity and to become weak and hard.

2. Lifestyle choices that can be changed:

Smoking. Those that smoke have a higher risk of having a stroke than the non-smoking population. Smoking damages the blood vessel walls, contributes to plaque build-up in the arteries, makes the heart work harder, and increases the heart rate and blood pressure. The carbon monoxide in cigarettes smoke replaces the oxygen in the blood and decreases the amount of oxygen received by the arteries' walls, tissues and organs.
Alcohol use. Excessive amounts of alcohol can lead to high blood pressure. Drinking more than 2 standard alcoholic drinks per day can increase the risk of stroke by 50 percent.
Drug use. Drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, and heroin, have been linked with an increased risk of stroke.
Obesity or excessive weight. Being obese or overweight increases the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, which all increase the risk for stroke.

II. Uncontrollable factors include:

Age: The stroke risk increases as a person ages, but the entire elder population is at high risk. The incident of stroke increases significantly with age in both women and men. After the age of 55, the risk of strokes doubles and continues to grow after the age of 65.
Gender: For the entire elderly population the chances of having a stroke should be a major concern. However, as to whether women are more at risk than men, or the risk is equal, the available research is unclear. The gender difference is obvious in the stroke incident for age groups. The stroke risk is higher in women older than 85 and in men 84 or younger. The risk of stroke is also high in middle age women. In younger people, stroke affects women and men in the same way. However, women have a higher risk than men to suffer from a hemorrhagic stroke.
Race: For the African-American population, the risk of stroke is two times higher than Caucasians. Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders also face a higher risk of a stroke than Caucasians.
Family history: Those that have family members that had stroke also face a higher risk of stroke.
Previous stroke: The risk of stroke increases if the person suffered previously from a stroke. Statistics show that a previous stroke or transient ischemic attack increases the risk of a future stroke in the next 5 years by 25 to 40 percent.

Article by Alina Morrow, MS
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com
Stroke Bibliography