After the onset of cerebral infarction, the aftereffects of cerebral infarction have a major impact on daily life, such as paralysis of half the body and difficulty in speaking.
If the symptoms are severe, they may not be able to live independently and may require constant nursing care. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number one cause of becoming bedridden is stroke, including cerebral infarction. ①Prevention is important so that you can live an independent life.
What are the characteristics of those who are likely to develop cerebral infarction or have a high risk of developing it?
There are many reasons why people are prone to stroke. This section describes the causes and countermeasures.
reference)
table of contents
Cause of stroke
Causes of cerebral infarction include aging, lifestyle habits, and lifestyle-related diseases.②
due to aging
①High blood pressure
Hypertension is defined as blood pressure consistently above 140/90mmHg. It is the most dangerous disease that causes stroke. Blood vessels also age, so blood pressure increases with age. High blood pressure damages blood vessels and causes arteriosclerosis. Atherosclerosis causes the inside of the blood vessels to narrow. In addition, if there is a thrombus (blood clot) in the arteries of the heart or neck, high blood pressure (blood pressure) can cause the thrombus to land in a blood vessel in the brain, causing a stroke.
② Atrial fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation is one of the cardiac arrhythmias. The cause is unknown, but it is thought to be related to aging. Subjective symptoms include irregular rhythm, palpitations, shortness of breath, and dizziness when the pulse on the wrist is touched. Sometimes there are no subjective symptoms and only an electrocardiogram is detected. In atrial fibrillation, blood in the heart can become stagnant and form clots. If this clot travels through the bloodstream and reaches a blood vessel in the brain, it can cause a stroke.
Lifestyle-related diseases/those caused by lifestyle habits
①Diabetes
Diabetes means that HgA1C (hemoglobin A1C) is 6.5% or more, fasting blood sugar is 136 mg/dl or more, random blood sugar is 200 mg/dl or more, and urine sugar is (+) or more. is called When you have diabetes, your blood is full of sugar, and your blood becomes "thick". As a result, blood flow becomes poorer, blood vessels become more likely to clog, and arteriosclerosis progresses due to the thickening of the walls of blood vessels, which can lead to cerebral infarction.
② Dyslipidemia
Dyslipidemia is defined as having LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) of 140 mg/dL or more, HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) of less than 40 mg/dL, and triglycerides of 150 mg/dL. Excessive amounts of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides accumulate in the blood, leading to arteriosclerosis. Since HDL cholesterol has a role to remove LDL cholesterol, even if there is little HDL cholesterol, it will lead to arteriosclerosis.
④Smoking
When you smoke, nicotine constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. It also leads to arteriosclerosis. People who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day are twice as likely to develop a stroke in men and four times more in women than non-smokers. ③
⑤Drinking
Like smoking, alcohol constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. Also, since alcohol tends to be high in calories, excessive drinking can lead to dyslipidemia and clot formation.
The high blood pressure mentioned above as a cause of aging may also be caused by "lifestyle-related diseases" caused by excessive salt intake. In addition, lifestyle diseases and lifestyle habits are more likely to develop cerebral infarction.
Measures to prevent stroke
Cerebral infarction is more likely to occur as blood vessels and heart weaken with age, but many are caused by lifestyle habits and lifestyle-related diseases. Therefore, adjusting your lifestyle is a preventive measure.
① Low-salt diet
High blood pressure is more likely to develop due to aging and excessive salt intake. Therefore, it is necessary to keep a low-salt diet in mind. The recommended salt intake is 8g or less per day. Check the nutrition label of the food and devise the amount of seasoning.
②Regular and well-balanced meals
Diabetes and dyslipidemia develop due to irregular meal times and accumulation of unbalanced eating habits. It is important to consider the balance of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, and minerals, and take three meals at the same time every day. Be especially careful not to eat too much sugar and fat.
③ No smoking, no drinking
It is known that smoking cessation for 5 to 10 years reduces the incidence of stroke, including cerebral infarction. Let's aim to quit smoking while receiving support such as outpatient smoking cessation. ③
Excessive drinking leads to high calorie intake and leads to dyslipidemia, so try to limit alcohol consumption. Specifically, it is recommended to limit alcohol intake to 25g/day (approximately 1 go for sake). ④
reference)
③Characteristics of people at high risk of stroke (noukousoku-prevent.com)
④Alcohol and Dyslipidemia | e-Health Net (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) (mhlw.go.jp)
summary
This time, I talked about the causes and measures that are easy to get cerebral infarction. Cerebral infarction is caused by lifestyle habits and lifestyle-related diseases more than aging. And once it develops, the sequelae will have a major impact on daily life thereafter. Prevention is more important than anything else.
Review your health checkup results and lifestyle habits, and start taking measures now.
On the other hand, the technology of "regenerative medicine", which uses autologous stem cells to alleviate the burden on the body and treat it, is also progressing, so it is recommended for those who want to work on stroke prevention.
Omotesando Helene Clinic specializes in regenerative medicine that does not place a burden on the body.The number of cases has exceeded 8,000 in Japan and overseas, and it has also acquired the "GCR: Global Clinic Rating" certification, which is proof that it has exceeded international standards. We are here.
"I'm curious, but I can't decide if prevention is really necessary now." You may be at risk of wandering life and death without realizing it, so Please feel free to contact us.
・Inquiry form (LINE, We Chat, email support):https://stemcells.jp/contact/
[Regenerative Medicine Outpatient] 03-3400-2277
(If you look at the article and let me know that you want to receive free counseling, I will guide you)
Supervision: Dr. Yasushi Tsuda