Even later in life, lifestyle changes can help women reduce risk of stroke
Some middle-aged women may think they have waited too long to reduce their risk of stroke by adopting a healthier lifestyle—that it is too late for such a change to make an impact. According to new findings published in Stroke, however, that is far from the truth.
The authors tracked data from more than 60,000 women who enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study. On average, participants enrolled 52 years old and stayed in the study for 26 years.
Strokes were reported in 4.7% of women who made no lifestyle changes—but women who took part in daily exercise, lost weight and stopped smoking saw their risk of a stroke of any kind reduced by 25% and risk of ischemic stroke reduced by 36%. In addition, making recommended dietary “changes—“eating more fish, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables and less red meat, no processed meat and less alcohol”—led to a 23% reduction in total stroke risk.
“We found that changing to a healthy lifestyle, even in your 50s, still has the potential to prevent strokes,” lead author Goodarz Danaei, ScD, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, said in a prepared statement. “Women who made lifestyle modifications in middle age reduced their long-term risk of total stroke by nearly a quarter and ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, by more than one-third.”
Looking specifically at physical activity, Danaei observed that “exercising 30 minutes or more daily may reduce the risk of stroke by 20%.”
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The American Health Association’s guidelines for preventing strokes in women are available here.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.