Exercise prevents another stroke

Larissa Melville completed her traineeship in the editorial team of . After studying biology at Ludwig Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich, she first got to know digital media online at Focus and then decided to learn medical journalism from scratch.

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Whether jogging, Nordic walking or cycling - sport is healthy. It has long been one of the first therapeutic options for depression and osteoarthritis. But can exercise also help after a stroke?

Dr. Tanya Turan and her colleagues from Charleston University after. To do this, the researchers analyzed the data from 227 patients. They were examined and interviewed for three years after a stenosis-related stroke. A stenosis is a narrowing of blood vessels, which is usually caused by arteriosclerosis.

All subjects received drug therapy consisting of double platelet inhibition with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) plus clopidogrel (these active ingredients prevent the platelets from clumping together) as well as blood pressure and lipid lowering drugs. The doctors also advised patients to exercise regularly. The announcement was: cycle for ten minutes at least five times a week or walk briskly.

Bad cards for those who don't like sports

Four out of five study participants did not manage to keep the required ten minutes of exercise a day - with serious consequences: They suffered a stroke, heart attack or vascular death 5.4 times more often than those patients who did at least exercise.

The result was even more extreme in relation to ischemic strokes, which are caused by acute hypoperfusion (ischemia): Here, the scientists were able to show that the risk of couch potatoes was even seven times higher. In contrast, there were hardly any differences for all other risk factors such as body mass index or smoking.

Risk towards zero

The risk of a recurrence of the vascular event was even lower in patients who moved at least five times for 30 minutes a week. Your three-year risk was practically zero. "Grabbing your sneakers is probably just as important as grabbing your pills," writes Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi from the University of Miami in an editorial for publication.

A total of 49 patients (22 percent) suffered another vascular event during the study period, including 32 percent an ischemic stroke.

Insufficient blood flow

A stroke, also known as a brain attack, is an acute circulatory disorder in the brain. The brain cells receive less oxygen and nutrients and die. The result can be numbness, paralysis, speech or vision disorders. With rapid treatment, they can sometimes resolve again; in other cases they remain permanent. A severe stroke can be fatal.

Sources:

Turan T. et al .: Relationship between risk factor control and vascular events in the SAMMPRIS trial. Neurology. doi: http: / / dx. doi. org / 10. 1212 / WNL. 0000000000003534

Chaturvedi S. & Nahab F .: Exercise for stroke prevention. Neurology. doi: http: / / dx. doi. org / 10. 1212 / WNL. 0000000000003541

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