How losing your cool or overdoing it at the gym could trigger a stroke

Strenuous physical exertion, anger or upset may act as triggers for strokes, new research suggests.

New research suggests anger or strenuous physical exertion may act as triggers for strokes. Picture: istock

Anger, upset or strenuous physical exertion may act as triggers for strokes, a study suggests.

One in 11 sufferers had experienced anger or upset in the hour leading up to their stroke, researchers found. One in 20 had engaged in heavy physical exertion, according to the Interstroke study, the largest research project of its kind.

A team led by the National University of Ireland, Galway looked at 13,462 cases of stroke in 32 countries, including the UK and Ireland.

Andrew Smyth, professor of clinical epidemiology at the university and a consultant nephrologist at Galway University Hospitals, 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.”

In the UK someone has a stroke every five minutes, with 100,000 people affected each year. Many of the 1.3 million stroke survivors require high levels of care. The research, published in the European Heart Journal, looked at patterns both in patients suffering ischemic stroke, the most common type, in which a clot blocks blood flow to the brain, and intracerebral haemorrhage, a less common type of stroke involving bleeding within the brain tissue itself.

By comparing the hour before the patients had a stroke with an hour on the day before symptoms, the researchers found that heavy physical exertion was linked to a 62 per cent increased chance of intracerebral haemorrhage. There was a greater increase in risk for women, and lower risk for people with a normal body mass index. There was no link with ischemic stroke.

Anger or other upset was linked to a 22 per cent higher risk of ischemic stroke and doubled the risk of intracerebral haemorrhage.

Dr Michelle Canavan, co-author of the paper and a consultant stroke doctor at Galway University Hospitals, said: “Our message is for people to practise 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 (events), while also adopting a healthy lifestyle of regular exercise.”

The global Interstroke study was co-led by Martin O’Donnell, professor of neurovascular medicine at NUI Galway and consultant stroke doctor at Galway University Hospitals. “Some of the best ways to prevent stroke are to maintain a healthy lifestyle, treat high blood pressure and not to smoke,” O’Donnell said. “But our research also shows other events … independently increase the short-term risk.”

The Times