22 June 2010
By Teena Thacker
New Delhi, India
HIGH blood pressure, smoking, waist–to–hip ratio, diet, physical activity, lipids, diabetes mellitus, alcohol intake, stress and depression, and heart disorders are 10 factors associated with 90 per cent of the risk of stroke, a study published in Lancet has revealed.
The subjects for the study were recruited from 22 countries, and the results, which will be presented at the World Congress of Cardiology 2010, led by Dr Salim Yusuf of Mc Master University, Hamilton, revealed that a stroke could be predicted, and that simple measures could reduce the burden of heart disease.
All these risk factors were seen to be present across all countries, irrespective of income status.
The study is especially significant in India, where smoking and hypertension are found "not under control". The study reveals that low and middle income countries account for more than 85 per cent of stroke mortality worldwide.
Of the stroke patients studied, only 14 per cent were from high income countries, while 81 per cent were from Southeast Asia, India, or Africa.
Dr Anoop Misra, Director, Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Fortis Hospitals, said, "It is worrying that in India, unlike other diseases, stroke is not diagnosed. It cannot be treated the same way as other diseases, as in this case the loss is permanent."
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