Stroke may be triggered by anger, emotional upset and heavy physical
exertion

Date:
December 2, 2021
Source:
National University of Ireland Galway
Summary:
A global study into causes of stroke has found that one in 11
survivors experienced a period of anger or upset in the one hour
leading up to it.

One in 20 patients had engaged in heavy physical exertion. The
suspected triggers have been identified as part of the global
INTERSTROKE study, which analyzed 13,462 cases of acute stroke,
involving patients with a range of ethnic backgrounds in 32
countries.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A global study co-led by NUI Galway into causes of stroke has found that
one in 11 survivors experienced a period of anger or upset in the one
hour leading up to it. One in 20 patients had engaged in heavy physical exertion.


==========================================================================
The suspected triggers have been identified as part of the global
INTERSTROKE study -- the largest research project of its kind, which
analysed 13,462 cases of acute stroke, involving patients with a range
of ethnic backgrounds in 32 countries, including Ireland.

The research has been published in the European Heart Journal.

Stroke is a leading global cause of death or disability. Each year, approximately 7,500 Irish people have a stroke and around 2,000 of
these people die. An estimated 30,000 people are living in Ireland with disabilities as a result of a stroke.

Professor Andrew Smyth, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at NUI
Galway, Director of the HRB-Clinical Research Facility Galway and a
Consultant Nephrologist at Galway University Hospitals, was one of the
lead researchers.

He said: "Stroke prevention is a priority for physicians, and
despite advances it remains difficult to predict when a stroke will
occur. Many studies have focused on medium to long-term exposures, such
as hypertension, obesity or smoking. Our study aimed to look at acute
exposures that may act as triggers." The research analysed patterns in patients who suffered ischemic stroke -- the most common type of stroke,
which occurs when a blood clot blocks or narrows an artery leading to
the brain, and also intracerebral haemorrhage -- which is less common
and involves bleeding within the brain tissue itself.



========================================================================== Professor Smyth added: "We looked a two separate triggers. Our research
found that anger or emotional upset was linked to an approximately 30%
increase in risk of stroke during one hour after an episode -- with a
greater increase if the patient did not have a history of depression. The
odds were also greater for those with a lower level of education.

"We also found that heavy physical exertion was linked to an approximately
60% increase in risk is of intracerebral haemorrhage during the one hour
after the episode of heavy exertion. There was a greater increase for
women and less risk for those with a normal BMI.

"The study also concluded that there was no increase with exposure
to both triggers of anger and heavy physical exertion." Co-author of
the paper, Dr Michelle Canavan, Consultant Stroke Physician at Galway University Hospitals, said "Our message is for people to practice
mental and physical wellness at all ages. But it is also important for
some people to avoid heavy physical exertion, particularly if they are high-risk of cardiovascular, while also adopting a healthy lifestyle of
regular exercise." The global INTERSTROKE study was co-led by Professor
Martin O'Donnell, Professor of Neurovascular Medicine at NUI Galway,
and Consultant Stroke Physician at Galway University Hospitals, in collaboration with Prof Salim Yusuf of the Population Health Research
Institute of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, Canada.

"Some of the best ways to prevent stroke are to maintain a healthy
lifestyle, treat high blood pressure and not to smoke, but our research
also shows other events such as an episode of anger or upset or a
period of heavy physical exertion independently increase the short-term
risk." Prof O'Donnell said.

"We would emphasise that a brief episode of heavy
physical exertion is different to getting regular
physical activity, which reduces the long-term risk of stroke." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
National_University_of_Ireland_Galway. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Andrew Smyth, Martin O'Donnell, Graeme J Hankey, Sumathy Rangarajan,
Patricio Lopez-Jaramillo, Denis Xavier, Hongye Zhang, Michelle
Canavan, Albertino Damasceno, Peter Langhorne, Alvaro Avezum,
Nana Pogosova, Aytekin Oguz, Salim Yusuf. Anger or emotional upset
and heavy physical exertion as triggers of stroke: the INTERSTROKE
study. European Heart Journal, 2021; DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab738 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211202141529.htm

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