High blood pressure and smoking increase the risk of stroke
The most dangerous disease in female menopause is stroke. Life is endangered, and many patients suffer from aftereffects such as body paralysis and speech impairment, which also causes pain to their families. Recently, the rate of cerebral infarction in which blood vessels are blocked has increased compared to cerebral hemorrhage in which blood vessels leading to the brain burst. Similar to the West, it accounts for 70-80% of strokes. Let’s check what is essential to prevent vascular disease.
◆ Brain tissue… Once you fall into necrosis due to a stroke, it is not easy to recover.
When a stroke occurs, the degree of difference is different, but the aftereffects remain. The way to fundamentally solve the burden of such a stroke is to prevent the disease itself. Stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure and smoking are known, but there are not a few people who cannot manage them. Uncontrollable risk factors such as age and genetics are unavoidable, but controllable risk factors must be managed. This can lower your risk of stroke.
◆ Decreased estrogen + increased high blood pressure… Menopausal women, double pain
During female menopause, estrogen (female hormone), which protected blood vessels when young, gradually disappears, causing blood vessels to lose their elasticity. Hypertension increases, and the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease increases. If you repeat wrong lifestyle habits such as eating salty food and lack of exercise at this time, the possibility of being exposed to the risk of stroke increases. High blood pressure has no symptoms, so you may not know that it worsens to heart disease or stroke. Blood pressure should be managed from time to time to prevent aggravation of the disease.
◆ Hypertension, the highest prevalence risk factor
Weight loss, low-fat, low-salt diet, exercise, and smoking cessation are recommended for the prevention and treatment of hypertension. If necessary, medication may also be used to lower blood pressure. As recommended by the Korean Stroke Society, the goal of blood pressure control for primary prevention of stroke is to maintain the target of less than 140/90 mmHg in the general population and less than 130/80 mmHg in patients with diabetes and renal disease.
◆ Smoking, an important independent risk factor for cerebral infarction
Smoking has both an acute effect of creating blood clots in narrowed arteries and a chronic effect of causing atherosclerosis in which blood vessels harden. Smoking is an important independent risk factor for cerebral infarction in all ages and genders. Compared to non-smokers, smokers are twice as likely to have a stroke. Secondhand smoke should also be avoided. Smoking increases the risk of not only lung cancer, which occurs frequently in middle-aged and older people, but also cancers such as stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder cancer.
◆ Hyperlipidemia, diabetes… Beware of increased cholesterol
Diabetes is also one of the main modifiable risk factors. Diabetes is associated with 15-33% of patients with cerebral infarction and is known to be an important predictor of stroke recurrence. Hyperlipidemia and dyslipidemia are also major risk factors. In particular, the risk of stroke in women is related to increased blood total cholesterol and low-density cholesterol (LDL). Eating a balanced diet, including moderate amounts of meat, and plenty of fruits and vegetables can help.