Recent Studies have shown the interconnection between a sedentary lifestyle and high blood pressure that heralds having a stroke.
Stroke, known medically as a cerebrovascular accident, as defined by John Hopkins Medicine, occurs when blood flow to the brain stops or is interrupted. The research structure lists ischemic stroke; most common type of stroke caused by blockage of a major blood vessel in the brain and hemorrhagic stroke; linked to the bursting of a blood vessel in the brain, such as both types of stroke.
Sedentary lifestyle, age, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, diabetes, prior history of stroke, race, and gender have been listed as risk factors for stroke.
The World Health Organization stated that between 60 and 85 percent of people worldwide lead a sedentary life. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the children were not active enough and were at risk of serious health complications later in life.
Findings from a February 2022 investigation by the American Heart Association reported an 11% increase in stroke among young and middle-aged adults due to sedentary lifestyles.
The report, published in the Daily Mail, indicated that those who barely moved for 13 or more hours a day were 44 percent more likely to have a stroke over seven years compared to sedentary people who spent 11 hours or less a day. day.
He stated: “Three and a half hours of light exercise per week was also shown to reduce the risk of stroke by 26 percent, compared to moving less than two hours per day. Light exercise could include doing chores or walking around the house.
“An even greater protective effect was recorded in people who engaged in more intense physical activity. Those who did 14 minutes or more of moderate or vigorous exercise, such as brisk walking, cycling or even gardening, saw their risk drop by 47 percent, compared to people who did less than three minutes per day ”.
In Africa, compared globally, stroke has been reported to have the highest incidence and lethality. In Nigeria, several medical researchers highlighted the prevalence of stroke at 1.14 per 1,000 with a higher prevalence of 1.51 per 1,000 in men and 0.69 per 1,000 in women. Due to lack of funding, the mortality rate of stroke patients within 30 days is as high as 40 percent.
Research conducted by Uchenna Okonkwo, Favor Uzuh, et al, on “Awareness of Stroke Risk Factors Among Non-Teaching Staff of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria” indicated that the main The medical cause of the strokes was an underlying disease of the heart or blood vessels, including hypertension.
Another recent study by a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Peking Union College of Medicine showed that people who engaged in little physical activity or barely moved for more than 13 hours a day had the highest risk. of having a cerebrovascular accident.
According to the Daily Mail, the study, which followed 100,000 adults for more than a decade, further revealed that those who were physically inactive and exercised for more than 12 hours a week reduced their risk of death by 17 percent, while those who exercised for less than two hours had a 50 percent increased risk.
Commenting on the issue, a Professor of Clinical Neurology and Internal Medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ikenna Onwuekwe, stated that the burden of stroke in Africa was increasing and getting worse.
He attributed changes in lifestyle, diet and lack of exercise as some of the reasons for the increase in cases.
Onwuekwe said: “Our ancestors did not have the degree of high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes and heart attacks as much as we currently hear. What has changed? Much research we have done has shown that the factors behind this include changes in lifestyle and diet. We have westernized. We gave up some of the traditional things that we were known for and adopted the white man’s culture, food and way of life, so we started getting diseases and conditions that we didn’t used to get before.”
He added that the high risk of blood pressure, blood cholesterol and diabetes mellitus, which are the three most common factors of stroke worldwide, explain the increase.
The neurologist further stated that a sedentary lifestyle was directly linked to increased cases of stroke, as it was a known risk factor for high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure.
On measures to prevent the increase, the epilepsy and stroke researcher said: “It’s going to be a multidimensional approach. There are things we can do as individuals on a personal level, organizations, industries, public and government regulations.
“When you get to the office, once in a while, maybe every two or three hours, get up and walk around. If you walk in a high-rise office, go downstairs and exercise for about 10 minutes and do it periodically until the end of work.”
He urged those who have a family history of high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, or obesity to have a personal lifestyle that encourages a good lifestyle.
Onwuekwe added: “Take a short walk for about 30 minutes to an hour every week. Have a good diet, cut down on weight gaining foods, eat more fish, stop eating meat, moderate your alcohol level, eat more nuts and vegetables.”
He advised the government to ensure that employers of labor create a work environment to improve health and productivity.
He also urged them to subsidize available but expensive drugs that could reverse some of the features of stroke in people who were brought to hospital early.
In addition, a professor and consultant neurologist at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Yomi Ogun, said that a sedentary lifestyle was among the risk factors for stroke.
Ogun stated that the main cause of the stroke was high blood pressure and a closer cause was diabetes mellitus and high cholesterol, among other factors.
The consultant added: “Some of the ways to prevent all those diseases is to control your blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol if you have it. There are other preventive measures. If you are obese, try to lose weight or exercise appropriately.
“If you have a sedentary job, which of course will predispose you more to obesity and not getting enough exercise, you have to make sure you prevent and avoid all that. If your cholesterol is high, you should also try to get it under control.”
He added that the risk of blood clots in a vein was high for those with jobs that made them sedentary.
Ogun also said, “If you have had a case of stroke, you must stick strictly to preventing a recurrence. In terms of prevention, we see it at five levels. The first is primary prevention, this is transversal to everyone and you make sure you eat a lot of vegetables, fish, adequate exercise and control weight and obesity. Also, minimize the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes.
“Secondary prevention is for those who have had a stroke before to prevent a recurrence. Some of the drugs used for secondary prevention are anticoagulants and statins. Tertiary prevention is for those who, when they have a stroke, need to be rushed to the stroke unit where they can be given what they call anticoagulants for dry stroke. There is what we call dry and wet stroke. For those who have a dry stroke, the pipe is blocked, while a wet stroke means the pipe is broken. Therefore, those who have a dry stroke need to get a clot buster or remove the clots surgically by clot collectors. But this is possible if they show up early enough. In this way, the result is improved and mortality is reduced.”
He added that early presentation of stroke cases to the hospital would prevent further complications.
Source: punchng.com