According to the Brazilian Society of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA) is the second disease that kills the most in Brazil and the main cause of inabilityall around the world. Therefore, it is important to know the risk factors, as well as the alternatives to avoid or keep it under control.
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What are risk factors for a disease?
It is important to know what it means to say that something is a risk factor for a certain disease. A risk factor is basically a characteristic or a habit that favors the appearance of some outcome.
For example: smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, as well as high salt intake is a risk factor for hypertension, and a sedentary lifestyle predisposes to the onset of obesity. Now let's go to the factors that increase the risk of a stroke.
Modifiable risk factors for stroke
There are some modifiable risk factors, such as life habits, while some characteristics cannot be changed, such as sex, age and genetics. In the case of stroke, age and sex are the main risk factors, but since they cannot be modified, we will focus on explaining what you can control.
- Hypertension
Known as “high blood pressure”, it is the main modifiable risk factor for avoiding stroke. High pressure levels damage the blood vessels in the brain, causing a stroke. Therefore, it is important to carry out medical and nutritional follow-up to keep the pressure within the reference values.
- smoking
Smoking is harmful to many organs and smoking is strongly associated with an increased risk of stroke. The substances present in cigarette smoke go from the lungs to the bloodstream and affect all cells, consequently, cause several alterations in the circulatory system and this reflects in the arteries brain.
- High levels of cholesterol and triglycerides
Excess fat in the blood favors the formation of plaques on artery walls, which become narrower and reduce blood flow. In this way, excess cholesterol and triglycerides increase the chances of a person having a stroke. This risk factor can be easily avoided by eating healthier.
- Alcoholic beverages and illicit drugs
Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages increases the occurrence of strokes, as it leads to hypertension and increased cholesterol levels (factors mentioned above). In addition, the use of cocaine or crack can result in damage to the arteries, even rupture of blood vessels, with the occurrence of stroke.
This article does not provide solutions for medical or psychological problems. Consult a specialist before starting any treatment.