Tag: stroke

hs-CRP: The Blood Test That Predicts Heart Attacks – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 43

hs-CRP: The Blood Test That Predicts Heart Attacks – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 43

The hs-CRP test can help predict your future risk of a heart attack and heart disease. This is a test that should be added to your regular yearly check up. Hs-CRP is also called Cardiac-CRP and it is a proxy for inflammation.

Does Iron Provide Protection Against Heart Disease?

Does Iron Provide Protection Against Heart Disease?

New research suggests that iron may have a protective effect against heart disease, which could pave the way for new treatments in the future. What is Heart Disease? Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), known as heart disease, is related to Atherosclerosis, a condition that develops when plaque 

Air Pollution Linked to Increased Anxiety and Stroke Risk

Air Pollution Linked to Increased Anxiety and Stroke Risk

Photo by David Lee on Unsplash

It’s a well-known fact that air pollution is damaging to not only the environment, but also to our bodies and minds. Recent research has linked exposure to chemicals in the air to increased anxiety symptoms as well as a higher risk of stroke.

Anxiety

I Using information from an expansive database collected in the 2004 Nurses’ Health Study, researchers looked for a common link between anxiety symptoms and exposure to air pollution. Their findings showed that those who lived closer to a major road and had a higher past exposure to “fine and coarse particulate matter” were significantly more prone to increased symptoms of anxiety. The fact that this seems to be the case at all is a scary prospect, and this goes hand-in-hand with anxiety levels in the general population, cited by the study’s publishers: “Anxiety is the most common psychiatric disorder and globally affects around 16% of people at some point in life.”
How to cope with Stress and Anxiety by Jerry Hickey, R. Ph!

Air Pollution

The study, led by Melinda Power, ScD, found that the association between anxiety and pollution depended on levels of exposure and was stronger if pollution exposure was more recent. An editorial accompanying the anxiety study, which also commented on the stroke study, suggested a possible biological explanation for the association with mental health. “Since air pollution causes systemic inflammation, it is reasonable that researchers have now turned to the arena of mental health, a leading priority for research given the relative absence of known modifiable risk factors and a high and growing disease burden,” according to Professor Michael Brauer, ScD, from the University of British Columbia’s public health school in Vancouver, Canada.

When it comes to stroke risk, the authors reviewed over 100 previous studies that included 28 countries to find a link between short-term air pollution exposure and stroke-related hospitalizations and deaths.

New Study says EGCG from Green Tea may help anxiety!

For gaseous pollutants, the associations with stroke risk were:

  • Carbon monoxide increased stroke risk by 1.5% for every 1 part per million increase
  • Sulphur dioxide – 1.9% increased risk of stroke per 10 parts per billion
  • Nitrogen dioxide – 1.4% risk of stroke per 10 parts per billion

According to the study authors, low- to middle-income countries experienced the strongest associations compared to high-income countries, and the results suggest a need for policy changes to reduce exposure in highly polluted regions such as China.

“The impact of chronic exposure to air pollution on development of carotid atherosclerosis (a precursor for stroke) remains unclear,” stated Professor Brauer. “Although this is not covered in the analysis, evidence of an association is growing.”

Source: Medical News Today

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Research says Strokes on the Rise in Younger Adults

Research says Strokes on the Rise in Younger Adults

Photo by Diego Ph on Unsplash A stroke, an event that occurs when blood flow to the brain is disrupted either by a blood clot or bleeding, is something we often associate with aging adults. Essentially, a stroke is a “brain attack” that can leave 

Stroke Prevention for Women: New Guidelines from the AHA

Stroke Prevention for Women: New Guidelines from the AHA

Strokes are the fifth leading cause of death in men, but the third leading cause in women – even though the risk factors are similar for both genders. New guidelines published by the American Heart Association focus on stroke prevention in women, who suffer strokes