Can Stress Cause a Stroke Risk Solution and More?Stress can be a part of everyday life, but it also has serious potential health repercussions. It has the potential to impact your heart, blood pressure and immune system negatively.
Stress can increase your risk for developing a stroke, so it’s essential to be aware of what causes stress and how to manage it effectively.
- Exercise
Exercise is the single most effective way to lower your risk of stroke. Exercise improves cardiovascular health by decreasing blood pressure, raising heart rate and decreasing cholesterol levels.
Exercise also helps you maintain a healthy weight, which can significantly lower the risk of stroke. Studies have revealed that regular physical activity can reduce stroke risks by as much as 27%.
- Sleep
Stress is an inevitable reaction to life’s difficulties and struggles, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming or lasting. Relationship problems, work demands, finances troubles and health troubles all contribute to stress in some form or another.
But did you know chronic stress is linked to several cardiovascular disorders, including high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity?
Untreated chronic stress can cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, eventually leading to stroke.
Researchers from the French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) conducted a survey of 274 adults to assess their sleep score and track the occurrence of coronary heart disease and stroke over an eight year median follow up period.
A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine recently revealed that participants with the highest sleep scores experienced a 75% lower risk of heart disease or stroke than those with the lowest scores. After controlling for age, sex, alcohol consumption, smoking, body mass index, physical activity level, cholesterol level and family history of heart disease, researchers confirmed these results.
- Eat Right
Stress is an inevitable part of life, but too much of it can have detrimental effects. It disrupts sleep patterns, causes headaches and raises the likelihood that health conditions like high blood pressure or heart disease will develop.
Stroke is a serious and potentially fatal health condition that occurs when the supply of blood to the brain is disrupted. This could be caused by either a burst blood vessel or fat and cholesterol blockages in an artery.
Good news: the vast majority of strokes can be avoided through healthy lifestyle changes and working together with your doctor to manage your stroke risk factors.
One way to manage stress is by recognising its symptoms. This is an invaluable first step as it will allow you to identify what exactly is causing you anxiety and what can be addressed without adding unnecessary additional strain.
- Relax
Relaxation techniques can be an effective way to reduce stress. These may include breathing, meditating or stretching exercises.
These exercises can help lower your blood pressure and heart rate, which could be indicative of stress or lead to cardiovascular issues. They also increase arteries’ opening wideness, increasing oxygen-rich blood flow to organs and muscles.
Researchers have demonstrated that mindfulness and relaxation can enhance brain function after stroke. They were particularly successful at increasing activity in areas of the prefrontal cortex that control emotions, thus decreasing stress levels.
When selecting relaxation techniques to incorporate into a patient’s care plan, it is essential that the practice fits their personal preferences and needs in light of daily life, families, communities, and beliefs. Furthermore, patients should be reminded of past successes or failures when trying to relax previously.