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Is stress a stroke risk factor

Georgeon March 22, 2018

5 Comments

For many years stress has been known to contribute to stroke risk factors of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diet, diabetes, smoking, alcohol consumption, etc

Until recently, research shows that stress can increase activity in the amygdala that changes bone marrow and arteries and causes cardiovascular problems including stroke

Have been told before not to believe everything you read on the Net, but what I have read is by prominent people and universities around the world and may change our way of thinking.

5 Responses

Ros

24/03/2018 05:02

Hmmmm, very interesting George. I was also told that stress doesn't cause stroke; it was merely a coincidence that my stroke occurred after a prolonged period of extreme stress. However, while stress was not considered a factor in my stroke the doctors and specialist couldn't explain what did cause it! After all, I was not considered high risk or someone they would have thought would have stroke. So . . .

Ros.

George

26/03/2018 00:15

As the voice of stroke in Australia am interested to know the view or policy of the Stroke

Foundation, in regards to stress.

While having a conversation with my niece was informed that mindfulness was learnt and practiced at the school she went too. Mindfulness and meditation is one the ways that stress is dealt with and needs to be taught by people with experience, not just out of a text book. Hopefully there will be less health problems in the future than the past, due to mindfulness.

StrokeLine

28/03/2018 03:55

Stress is not at the moment listed as a specific risk factor in relation to stroke however there is mounting evidence that stress contributes to a number of chronic health conditions. Stress can increase blood pressure, inflammation within the body, alter hormone regulation and reduce immune function.

Stress is more difficult to measure than blood pressure, cholesterol etc. which is likely why it hasn’t been listed as a specific risk factor as it’s more difficult to prove. We do know blood pressure is a risk factor, directly influenced by stress in many cases.

Severe and ongoing stress can make it hard to relax, and make a person feel overwhelmed, panicky or anxious. If this occurs, managing stress levels should become a priority. The BeyondBlue website has further information about ways to reduce stress and where to get help. There are links to health professional directories, including for general practice and psychology. Mindfulness- based therapies are also addressed in the BeyondBlue resource for anxiety.

Please call StrokeLine on 1800 787 653 for further advice or information about stroke prevention, treatment, recovery and support.

Best wishes,

Kirsty

(StrokeLine)

Chris Lassig

29/03/2018 01:14

Just to add some more to Kirsty's reply, the research mentioned in the original post was published in The Lancet in January 2017. It got a lot of media attention at the time, which is why it comes up in internet searches.

Researchers from Harvard University were testing the hypothesis that stress can cause inflammation, which contributes to thickening of arteries and can lead to stroke. They did brain imaging to look at activity in the amygdala, which is a part of the brain associated with emotional response. They also looked for signs of inflammation, particularly activity in the bone marrow where white blood cells are made, and levels of C-reactive proteins, which circulate in the blood.

They did find a connection between activity in the amygdala and these signs of inflammation. However, the study involved a relatively small number of people, so it's not possible to say that it's conclusive, or that they proved a connection to stroke.

So it's a very interesting study that supports the idea that stress can lead to inflammation. Stress might one day be added to the other known risk factors for stroke, including the major ones that you listed.

The British Heart Foundation has a good summary of the research: https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/stress-and-heart-disease

Chris
(Stroke Foundation)

George

26/01/2019 20:36

A couple of years ago I attended a Mens healthy breakfast, which had a local doctor as a guest speaker. He asked the question to the 30 or so people that were there, what is the biggest health problem in regional Australia. The people answered with Cancer, Heart Attack,Stroke, his reply was the biggest health problem in regional Australia is stress. Everybody copes with different levels of stress and sometimes it gets out of control and I think stress should be given a higher profile than what is has.

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Is stress a stroke risk factor

Georgeon March 22, 2018

5 Comments

For many years stress has been known to contribute to stroke risk factors of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diet, diabetes, smoking, alcohol consumption, etc

Until recently, research shows that stress can increase activity in the amygdala that changes bone marrow and arteries and causes cardiovascular problems including stroke

Have been told before not to believe everything you read on the Net, but what I have read is by prominent people and universities around the world and may change our way of thinking.

5 Responses

Ros

24/03/2018 05:02

Ros.

George

26/03/2018 00:15

As the voice of stroke in Australia am interested to know the view or policy of the Stroke

Foundation, in regards to stress.

StrokeLine

28/03/2018 03:55

Please call StrokeLine on 1800 787 653 for further advice or information about stroke prevention, treatment, recovery and support.

Best wishes,