Strokes: Most are preventable
Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.
More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.Seen worldwide, most people die as a result of a stroke, in Germany it is the third leading cause of death. Most cerebral infarctions can be avoided by adopting a healthier lifestyle - in this country and around the world.
"Our study shows that around 90 percent of these strokes would have been avoidable if those affected had lived more healthily," says Prof. Hans-Christoph Diener from the Essen University Hospital. His team was involved in a large international study with almost 27,000 participants, which was carried out in 32 countries on all five continents.
For the study, the international research team recorded patients with an acute stroke, to each of which they assigned a control person without a stroke of the same age and gender. Then risk factors for stroke were looked for.
Risk factor # 1: high blood pressure
The scientists identified a total of ten main risk factors for strokes that - unlike, for example, a person's genetic makeup - can be influenced. The most significant factor was high blood pressure. This was particularly evident in patients with cerebral haemorrhage compared to patients with strokes due to clogged arteries. Other risk factors are an unhealthy diet, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, heart disease and emotional and social stress.
How much the individual factors contributed to the strokes, however, differed from region to region. Overall, however, the avoidability of strokes was around 90 percent, regardless of the place of residence, age and gender of the patient.
Effective lifestyle change
90 percent - this number naturally describes an ideal world in which everyone maintains an optimal lifestyle and whose health risk values are optimally adjusted. That is not attainable. However, the figures show once again how great an influence each individual can have on their personal stroke risk.
"If you treat these relevant factors consistently, the strokes decreased dramatically," believes Diner. It is therefore important that appropriate funding programs are initiated and implemented in Germany as well.
Death and obesity
Almost 270,000 people in Germany suffer a stroke every year, according to the German stroke relief agency. Around 20 percent of them die within four weeks, more than 37 percent within a year. This means that strokes after cancer and heart attacks are the most common cause of death in Germany. In addition, there are those survivors who are disabled even a year after the event and are dependent on outside help - that is every second. A total of one million people in Germany suffer from the consequences of a cerebral infarction.
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