stroke
Showing posts with label stroke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stroke. Show all posts

Vitamin B Supplements May Guard Against Stroke

Review found they reduced risk by 7 percent, but did not reduce severity or risk of death


Review found they reduced risk by 7 percent, but



By Robert Preidt


HealthDay Reporter


WEDNESDAY, Sept. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Taking vitamin B supplements may help reduce your risk of stroke, a new review shows.


Previous research has yielded conflicting findings about whether taking vitamin B supplements affects the risk of stroke and heart attack. Some studies have concluded that taking vitamin B supplements may actually increase the risk, according to the review authors.


They analyzed the findings of 14 clinical trials that included a total of nearly 55,000 people. All of the trials compared vitamin B supplement use with a placebo or very low-dose vitamin B.


The participants were followed for a minimum of six months. There were a total of nearly 2,500 strokes among the participants in the studies, all of which showed some benefit of taking vitamin B.


Overall, vitamin B supplements reduced the risk of stroke by 7 percent, but did not appear to reduce the severity of strokes or the risk of death from stroke, according to the review, which was published in the Sept. 18 online issue of the journal Neurology.


The researchers found that folic acid, a supplemental form of folate (B9) that is common in fortified cereals, appeared to reduce the beneficial effect of vitamin B. They also found that vitamin B12 had no effect on stroke risk.


"Based on our results, the ability of vitamin B to reduce stroke risk may be influenced by a number of other factors, such as the body's absorption rate, the amount of folic acid or vitamin B12 concentration in the blood, and whether a person has kidney disease or high blood pressure," review author Xu Yuming, of Zhengzhou University in China, said in a journal news release.


"Before you begin taking any supplements, you should always talk to your doctor," Yuming added.


One expert agreed, noting that strokes can be caused by many varying factors.


"Ischemic strokes can have many different causes, the most common being hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity," said Dr. Rafael Alexander Ortiz, director of neuro-endovascular surgery and stroke at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "There is a group of patients that may suffer a stroke due to deficiency of vitamins and enzymes. It is appropriate to perform a comprehensive work-up, including [for] vitamin deficiencies, in patients that have suffered a stroke."


Another expert said the findings are important.


"[The report] identifies a substance which is readily available and has been demonstrated to have a positive effect in stroke risk reduction in certain population subgroups," said Dr. Albert Favate, director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. "The article also reflects the increased public thirst for dietary prevention of stroke."


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Vitamin B may reduce risk of stroke

Researchers have uncovered evidence that suggests vitamin B supplements could help to reduce the risk of stroke, according to a study published in the journal Neurology.


Vitamin B supplements are said to be beneficial for many health issues, including stress, anxiety, depression, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and heart disease.


However, according to Xu Yuming of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, China, previous studies have conflicting findings regarding the use of vitamin B supplements and stroke or heart attack.


"Some studies have even suggested that the supplements may increase the risk of these events," he adds.


In order to determine the role of vitamin B supplements in the risk of stroke, Prof. Yuming and colleagues analyzed 14 randomized clinical trials involving a total of 54,913 participants.


All studies compared use of vitamin B supplements with a placebo, or a very low dosage of the vitamin. All participants were then followed for a period of 6 months.


During this time, there were 2,471 reported strokes over all of the studies.


Results of the analysis revealed that the participants taking the vitamin B supplements had a 7% reduced risk of stroke, compared with those taking the placebo supplements or a low dosage of vitamin B.


However, the findings showed that taking vitamin B supplements did not reduce the severity of strokes or the risk of death.


The researchers found that a supplemental form of folate (vitamin B9) - a vitamin frequently found in fortified cereals - actually reduced the effect of vitamin B on the risk of stroke.


Additionally, the study showed that vitamin B12 did not have any effect on the risk of stroke.


The study authors explain that their "meta-analysis demonstrated that homocysteine-lowering therapy with B vitamin supplementation significantly reduced stroke events."

They continue:

We did not find significant benefit for reduction of stroke events in subgroup analyses according to intervention dose, reduction of homocysteine level, or baseline blood vitamin B12 concentration. Further analyses of B12 limited to folate-replete participants (with background of cereal folic acid fortification) also revealed no benefit."


However, the researchers note that the effect of vitamin B on stroke risk is dependent on many underlying aspects:


"Factors including the background of folate fortification of cereal products, follow-up time, status of absorption and response to B vitamin supplementation, the existence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) or high blood pressure (HBP), and baseline participant medication use can influence the effects of B vitamins supplementation."


According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stroke is the leading cause of death in the US, killing nearly 130,000 Americans every year.


Medical News Today recently reported that although the occurrence of stroke is usually associated with those aged over 65, a study suggests that younger people are now at higher risk of the condition.

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Vitamin B Supplements May Guard Against Stroke

Review found they reduced risk by 7 percent, but did not reduce severity or risk of deathReview found they reduced risk by 7 percent, but
By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Taking vitamin B supplements may help reduce your risk of stroke, a new review shows.
Previous research has yielded conflicting findings about whether taking vitamin B supplements affects the risk of stroke and heart attack. Some studies have concluded that taking vitamin B supplements may actually increase the risk, according to the review authors.
They analyzed the findings of 14 clinical trials that included a total of nearly 55,000 people. All of the trials compared vitamin B supplement use with a placebo or very low-dose vitamin B.
The participants were followed for a minimum of six months. There were a total of nearly 2,500 strokes among the participants in the studies, all of which showed some benefit of taking vitamin B.
Overall, vitamin B supplements reduced the risk of stroke by 7 percent, but did not appear to reduce the severity of strokes or the risk of death from stroke, according to the review, which was published in the Sept. 18 online issue of the journal Neurology.
The researchers found that folic acid, a supplemental form of folate (B9) that is common in fortified cereals, appeared to reduce the beneficial effect of vitamin B. They also found that vitamin B12 had no effect on stroke risk.
"Based on our results, the ability of vitamin B to reduce stroke risk may be influenced by a number of other factors, such as the body's absorption rate, the amount of folic acid or vitamin B12 concentration in the blood, and whether a person has kidney disease or high blood pressure," review author Xu Yuming, of Zhengzhou University in China, said in a journal news release.
"Before you begin taking any supplements, you should always talk to your doctor," Yuming added.
One expert agreed, noting that strokes can be caused by many varying factors.
"Ischemic strokes can have many different causes, the most common being hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity," said Dr. Rafael Alexander Ortiz, director of neuro-endovascular surgery and stroke at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "There is a group of patients that may suffer a stroke due to deficiency of vitamins and enzymes. It is appropriate to perform a comprehensive work-up, including [for] vitamin deficiencies, in patients that have suffered a stroke."
Another expert said the findings are important.
"[The report] identifies a substance which is readily available and has been demonstrated to have a positive effect in stroke risk reduction in certain population subgroups," said Dr. Albert Favate, director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. "The article also reflects the increased public thirst for dietary prevention of stroke."

View the original article here
Read More

Moderate Arsenic in Environment Tied to Higher Heart Attack, Stroke Risk

Researchers suspect groundwater and certain foods raised levels of chemical in study of Native AmericansStudy found temperatures often set higher than
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- People chronically exposed to low to moderate levels of arsenic in their environment may be more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease, a study of American Indians suggests.
Previous research has linked exposure to high levels of arsenic in drinking water (more than 100 micrograms per liter) with coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease and carotid atherosclerosis.
Environmental health researchers decided to explore whether exposure to the lower levels of arsenic more commonly found in drinking water or food also would increase the risk of heart disease.
"We didn't know what would happen at levels that occur regularly in the United States," said study author Dr. Ana Navas-Acien, a researcher in the department of environmental health sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Regular exposure to more common levels of arsenic did indeed correlate to increased risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease, even after adjusting for other risk factors such as smoking, obesity and cholesterol levels, according to the findings, which were published in the Sept. 24 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
"It's a chronic long-term health effect," Navas-Acien said. "We need to understand that cardiovascular disease is a very complex illness, and there are many environmental risk factors like arsenic which can contribute."
Although the study found that relatively common levels of arsenic in drinking water were associated with a higher risk of heart disease, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
The researchers studied nearly 3,600 American Indian men and women living in Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota, beginning in 1989 and following up with them through 2008.
Groundwater likely provided the major source of arsenic exposure in Arizona and the Dakotas, researchers said. Private wells in those states often exceed the U.S. standard for arsenic in drinking water of 10 micrograms per liter, and are sometimes as high as 50 micrograms per liter.
Oklahomans likely were exposed to arsenic through their food, with potential sources including rice, flour and other grains, the researchers wrote.
Study participants provided urine samples that the research team used to estimate their exposure to inorganic arsenic.
Of the participants, nearly 450 died of cardiovascular disease and almost 1,200 developed either fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular disease. Researchers found that a person's risk of death from cardiovascular disease increased with their arsenic exposure.
The one-quarter of patients who showed the highest levels of arsenic in their urine had about a 50 percent increased risk of death by heart attack or stroke compared to those with the lowest levels of arsenic, Navas-Acien said.
Arsenic exposure also was associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

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200,000 heart disease, stroke deaths a year are preventable

 
It’s easy to think of heart disease and stroke as an almost inevitable part of aging in a developed country like the United States. After all, they are our leading causes of death and disability. But the truth is that these are largely preventable conditions.

New estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that one-quarter of all deaths from heart disease and stroke are preventable. And that is almost certainly an underestimate.

According to the report, published online in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, among American adults under age 75, approximately 200,000 of deaths caused each year by heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure (hypertension) are preventable. Surprisingly, more than half of those preventable deaths occurred among individuals under age 65.

During a press conference to present the study results, CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said, “As a doctor, I find it heartbreaking to know that the vast majority of people who are having a heart attack or stroke, under the age of 65 in particular, and dying from it didn’t have to have that happen.”

It’s possible that the rate of preventable deaths is lower among those over age 65 because they are covered by Medicare, and so may be more likely to see doctors and receive preventive treatment.

Other factors also influenced the rate of preventable death. Sex is one: men were twice as likely to die from a preventable heart attack or stroke as women. Race and ethnicity also matter: blacks were twice as likely to die from a preventable heart attack or stroke as whites.

Geography is another influence. “Longevity may be more likely to be influenced by your ZIP code than by your genetic code,” said Dr. Frieden. Preventable deaths were more common in southern states, as shown by the map below.

Rates of avoidable deaths due to heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure by U.S. county, 2008 to 2010. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

The good news is that the rate of preventable deaths declined 29% from 2001 to 2010, the last year for which there are complete statistics.

The CDC came up with its estimates using mathematical modeling. It essentially identified “avoidable deaths” as those occurring among men and women under age 75 who had been diagnosed with heart disease, stroke, or high blood pressure. Such people, so the thinking goes, can be treated to prevent the condition from killing them.

Preventing these conditions in the first place could lead to even greater reductions. Harvard School of Public Health researchers followed nearly 85,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study, all free of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes at the study’s start in 1980. After 14 years of follow-up, 1,128 had experienced a heart attack or died of heart disease. Women with a healthy lifestyle (nonsmoker, healthy body weight, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity an average of at least half an hour per day, and a healthy diet) were far less likely to have had a cardiovascular problem than women who didn’t. In fact, the researchers estimated that 82% of the coronary events in these women could be attributed to aspects of an unhealthy lifestyle. The study was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

No matter what your age and how good things look today, your future risk of heart disease, stroke and other related diseases is high. It’s true for all of us.

That’s why it’s so important to do all you can to lower your risk:
Don’t smoke. If you smoke, it’s never too late to quit. Your risk of a heart attack starts to decrease within weeks of quitting.Aim for or maintain a healthy weight.Take steps to help keep your blood pressure in the healthy range. Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and limit salt intake. If lifestyle changes aren’t enough to do the job, there are a number of medicines that work.Reduce your consumption of saturated and trans fats. This will help improve your LDL (bad) cholesterol level. Instead use more olive oil and other unsaturated oils. Some people may also need a statin drug to lower LDL.
Over the next 10 years, we have the knowledge and means to greatly increase the number of preventable deaths from heart disease, stroke, and from many other diseases as well. As a nation we could take a huge step forward by becoming more physically active and adopting other healthy lifestyle changes.
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