Partner of the day

Hello. It’s Thursday, April 25. You’re about to discover 4 home remedies to soothe sore gums… why a lack of sleep can age you… a delicious Energizing Nutty Breakfast Bites recipe… why perimenopause can trigger constipation……and more…

Got Migraines? You Might Need to Be Screened for a Stroke

Strokes can be devastating and debilitating, so prevention is paramount. Yet, to ward off a stroke you need to know you’re at risk. For young adults, those risk factors can look very different than they do when you’re older.

For a study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, researchers combed through data from the Colorado All Payer Claims Database, looking at how traditional and nontraditional risk factors affect stroke risk in those 55 years and younger. They examined data from 2,628 stroke cases and 7,827 controls.

What they found is that for adults between 18 to 34 years of age, nontraditional risk factors were more likely to cause a stroke than traditional ones. The two most frequent culprits include migraines and thrombophilia, a condition that increases the likelihood of blood clotting. For men, another nontraditional risk factor includes kidney failure. For women, it’s malignancy. The association is so strong that the researchers recommend that young patients with these conditions undergo stroke screenings to monitor their risk.

Researchers did note that the study had some limitations, such as not accounting for uncoded diagnoses or those who didn’t seek medical care. Plus, the study was conducted from a database in Colorado and the higher altitude may have potentially impacted the results.

Heart Disease Linked with Eating Too Much Sodium

While sodium is necessary for good health, eating too much can disrupt the fluid balance in your body—raising your blood pressure and worsening conditions like heart failure. A recent study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session revealed that individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD) consume more than double the recommended daily allowance of sodium.

For this study, researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES), which included people diagnosed with heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease, heart failure, or coronary artery disease. They estimated each participant’s sodium intake by reviewing questionnaires documenting their food consumption over 24 hours.

The results revealed that among the more than 3,100 individuals with cardiovascular disease, 89% were consuming more than the 1,500 mg daily recommended limit for people with heart disease. Plus, most were eating more than double the safe daily limit.

The researchers acknowledged that the sodium intake was determined based on food recall questionnaires rather than 24-hour sodium measurements, which are considered the "gold standard." However, they stressed the need for increased education to emphasize the importance of limiting sodium, especially for those with heart concerns.