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Drinking coffee may reduce risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage in women. (2011) www.sciencedaily.com
Drinking coffee may reduce the risk of stroke in women.
A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, killing brain cells. It is the second leading cause of disability and death worldwide, affecting the lives of roughly 102 million people. Evidence suggests that inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of strokes. Findings from a 2011 study suggest that coffee reduces the risk of stroke in women.
Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages worldwide. It is rich in polyphenolic compounds, including quercetin, chlorogenic acid, and others, that exert beneficial health effects in humans. Evidence suggests that coffee reduces inflammation.
The study involved nearly 35,000 women enrolled in the Swedish Mammography Cohort. The women, who had no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer at the time of their enrollment, completed questionnaires about their coffee consumption and other lifestyle habits. Using hospital medical records, the investigators gathered information about whether the women experienced a stroke during a 10-year follow-up period.
They found that drinking coffee was associated with a reduced risk of strokes, even after taking other risk factors into consideration, such as smoking, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, or alcohol consumption. On average, drinking 1 to 2 cups daily reduced risk by 22 percent; 3 to 4 cups reduced risk by 25 percent; 5 or more cups reduced risk by 23 percent.
These findings suggest that moderate coffee consumption reduces the risk of stroke in women. Other lifestyle behaviors may reduce stroke risk, too, such as sauna use, which may reduce risk by as much as half. Learn more in this presentation by Dr. Rhonda Patrick.
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Air pollution may increase stroke risk for intracerebral hemorrhage by 54%. (2003) www.sciencedaily.com
Exposure to air pollution increases the risk of stroke by more than half.
Air pollution contains many toxic substances, including chemicals, gases, and particulate matter – a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets that exert neuroinflammatory effects. Exposure to air pollution promotes oxidative stress and increases the risk of developing many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, hypertension, and diabetes, markedly shortening people’s lives. Findings from a 2003 study suggest that exposure to air pollution is associated with an increased risk of stroke.
A stroke is a neurological disorder characterized by the interruption of blood flow to the brain. Strokes are typically classified as either ischemic or hemorrhagic. Ischemic strokes, which account for approximately 87 percent of all strokes, are characterized by the blockage of an artery. Hemorrhagic strokes, which account for 13 percent of strokes, are characterized by bleeding from a blood vessel that supplies the brain.
The researchers reviewed admission data from hospitals in and around Kaohsiung, Taiwan, an industrial area known for its high levels of air pollution. They obtained air quality assessments of the same area via government monitoring stations that provided measurements of gases (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone) and particulate matter with diameters of 10 micrograms (PM10) or less. Because weather influences air quality, they also collected humidity and temperature readings from the government weather agency.
They found that exposure to higher levels of nitrogen dioxide and PM10 was associated with increased risk of stroke, especially on warm days (68°F or warmer). The risk of ischemic stroke increased by 55 percent for greater nitrogen dioxide exposure and by 46 percent for greater PM10 exposure. The risk for hemorrhagic stroke increased by 54 percent with greater exposure to either nitrogen dioxide or PM10.
These findings suggest that exposure to common air pollutants, especially during warmer weather, increases the risk of stroke. The investigators posited that this increased risk is due to the inflammatory effects of particulate matter and the increase in plasma viscosity and serum cholesterol levels that occur with exposure to high temperatures and humidity.
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Higher serum magnesium concentrations may reduce the risk of brain aneurysms and aneurysmal brain bleeding. (2021) www.physiciansweekly.com
Higher serum magnesium concentrations reduce the risk of having a brain aneurysm.
A brain aneurysm is a weakness in a blood vessel in the brain that swells and fills with blood. If the aneurysm ruptures, it releases blood into the spaces that surround the brain. This bleeding can cause many complications, including hemorrhagic stroke, brain damage, coma, and even death. Evidence from a 2021 study suggests that higher serum magnesium concentrations reduce the risk of having a brain aneurysm.
Magnesium is an essential mineral and a cofactor for hundreds of enzymes. Found in green leafy vegetables, nuts, and seeds, magnesium participates in many physiological processes, including energy production, protein synthesis, ion transport, and cell signaling. Magnesium deficiency is linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. Genetic variants called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) influence magnesium status.
The investigators conducted an analysis using Mendelian randomization, a research method that provides evidence of links between modifiable risk factors and disease based on genetic variants within a population. Mendelian randomization is less likely to be affected by confounding or reverse causation than other types of studies, but since it is based on assumptions, the likelihood of the assumptions must be taken into consideration. Their analysis focused on five magnesium-related SNPs identified in a genome-wide association study in nearly 24,000 people of European ancestry. They found that for every 0.1 mmol/L genetically predicted increase in serum magnesium concentration, the risk of having either a ruptured or unruptured brain aneurysm decreased 34 percent.
These findings suggest that higher magnesium concentrations reduce the risk of having a brain aneurysm. Learn more about the importance of magnesium in this episode featuring Dr. Rhonda Patrick.
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Study suggests two hours of moderate exercise per week reduces risk of brain aneurysm rupture by 20%. (2019) www.eurekalert.org
Exercising 30 minutes a day reduces the risk of a ruptured brain aneurysm.
Exercise and other forms of physical activity exert profound cardioprotective effects. In fact, people who regularly engage in moderate leisure time physical activity are less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people who are inactive. Findings from a 2019 study suggest that just 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily reduces the risk of experiencing a ruptured brain aneurysm.
The bleeding associated with a ruptured brain aneurysm impedes the delivery of oxygen to brain tissue, potentially causing a stroke and impairing cognitive and motor function. Experts estimate that as many as 12 percent of people who experience a ruptured brain aneurysm will die immediately; as many as 45 percent will die within 30 days of the event.
The study involved more than 65,000 adults enrolled in the FINRISK, an ongoing study of risk factors for chronic diseases among people living in Finland. The investigators collected information about the participants' physical activity, including activities performed during leisure time, commuting, and working. They also reviewed medical records and autopsy registries to identify those who had experienced a ruptured brain aneurysm.
They found that 543 of the participants experienced a ruptured brain aneurysm during a 42-year period. However, those who engaged in regular physical activity were protected: For every 30-minute increase in weekly leisure-time physical activity, the risk of experiencing a ruptured brain aneurysm decreased by 5 percent. The protective effects of leisure-time activity were observed across all age groups and were particularly strong for smokers. Participants who had an active commute were protected as well, but this protection lessened upon retirement, when they stopped commuting. Interestingly, those who had moderate or high work-related physical activity were 34 to 41 percent more likely to experience a ruptured brain aneurysm.
These findings suggest that just 30 minutes of moderate leisure-time exercise and physical activity daily exert robust cardioprotective effects, reducing the risk of ruptured brain aneurysm. Learn more about the benefits of exercise in our overview article.
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Inflammation is critical in aortic dissection, and IL-6 plays the central role in the process. (2009) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
To profile the inflammatory attack that produces aortic dissection, Brasier’s group injected the hormone angiotensin into both ordinary lab mice and those genetically modified to “knock out” IL-6 or a cellular receptor for another molecule also involved, known as MCP-1. The human samples, used to substantiate a link between the mouse findings and human disease, came from volunteers undergoing surgical aortic dissection repair without a family history of the disease.
“Angiotensin is a blood-pressure regulating hormone – people who have what we call essential high blood pressure have increased production of angiotensin, and it’s the target for anti-hypertension therapies,” Brasier said. “What we’ve found in earlier studies is that it has an inflammatory role as well, causing cells in blood vessel walls to produce IL-6 as well as MCP-1. And this study showed us that MCP-1 helps recruit monocytes [a type of white blood cell] to the vessel where IL-6 activates them.”
Playing host to a large number of cells meant for immune defense is bad news for an aorta already strained by an aneurysm, since activated white blood cells produce proteins that destabilize the structure of the vessel. At the same time, signals produced by the activated white blood cells encourage the blood vessel to generate more IL-6.
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The total number of individual risk factors, but not the size of aneurysms, significantly influences the risk of rupture. (2014) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
This is a unique study in that it monitored aneurysm patients over their entire lifetimes, whereas typical follow-up studies last only between one and five years in duration.
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The new study established that approximately one third of all aneurysms and up to one fourth of small aneurysms will rupture during a patient’s lifetime. The risk of rupture is particularly high for female smokers with brain aneurysms of seven millimetres or more in diameter. What surprised the researchers most was that the size of an aneurysm had little impact on its risk for rupture, particularly for men, despite a previously presumed correlation. In addition, the risk of rupture among non-smoking men was exceptionally low.
“This is not to say that aneurysms in non-smoking men never rupture, but that the risk is much lower than we previously thought. This means treating every unruptured aneurysm may be unnecessary if one is discovered in a non-smoking man with low blood pressure,” Juvela clarifies.
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Study suggests a link between aspirin use and lower brain aneurysm growth rate. (2019) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
According to the univariate analysis, significant predictors of aneurysm growth included a patient’s history of ruptured aneurysm, drug abuse, hypertension, and polycystic kidney disease. There was an association between both aspirin use and one type of treatment, stent-assisted coil embolization, and a lower rate of aneurysm growth. In the multivariate analysis, the independent factors associated with aneurysm growth were again patient’s history of ruptured aneurysm, drug abuse, hypertension, and polycystic kidney disease. Only aspirin use proved to be associated with a significant decreased rate of aneurysm growth.
On the basis of the statistical analyses, use of aspirin appears to exert a protective effect against aneurysm growth and very likely against future rupture.
The authors point out that their findings are observational and that future, interventional studies should be conducted.
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Marijuana users’ risk of deadly complication may double after brain aneurysm-associated brain bleeding. www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
However, despite treatment, in the 14 days following an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, many patients may develop worsening symptoms (such as speech problems or difficulty moving). This is caused by blood from the initial stroke irritating blood vessels, causing them to constrict enough to cut off the blood supply to a portion of the brain (called a vasospasm), resulting in more brain damage. This complication, called delayed cerebral ischemia, is a leading cause of death and disability after an aSAH [aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage] stroke.
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After adjusting for several patient characteristics as well as recent exposure to other illicit substances, patients who tested positive for THC at last follow up were found to be: 2.7 times more likely to develop delayed cerebral ischemia; 2.8 times more likely to have long-term moderate to severe physical disability; and 2.2 times more likely to die.
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The study does not specifically address how cannabis raises the risk of vasospasm and delayed cerebral ischemia. Lawton noted, “Cannabis may impair oxygen metabolization and energy production within cells. When stressed by a ruptured aneurysm, the cells are much more vulnerable to changes that affect the delivery of oxygen and the flow of blood to the brain.”
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Mice placed on a low-calorie diet are less likely to develop abdominal aortic aneurysms. (2016) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
The researchers placed mice prone to developing AAA on a calorie-restricted diet for 12 weeks and found that the animals were less likely to develop aneurysms than control mice fed a normal diet. The calorie-restricted mice also showed lower rates of AAA rupture and death.
The researchers determined that calorie restriction reduced the levels of an enzyme called MMP2 that degrades the protein matrix surrounding blood vessels. This was because, after 12 weeks of reduced calorie intake, vascular smooth muscle cells in the wall of the aorta up-regulated a metabolic sensor protein called SIRT1, which can epigenetically suppress multiple genes, including MMP2. The researchers found that calorie restriction was unable to reduce MMP2 expression and the incidence of AAA in mice whose vascular smooth muscle cells lack SIRT1.
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Study shows reduced risk of aortic aneurysm (-27%) and aortic dissection (-47%) in patients with type 2 diabetes. (2017) www.eurekalert.org
From the article:
A decrease in short-term risk of aortic aneurysm (dilatation of the aorta, the main artery in the body, with associated symptoms including pain, and a risk for lethal rupture) and of aortic dissection (a tear in the most intimate layer of the artery wall that can block the flow of blood to the heart or abdominal organs) has been noted for patients with T2DM in previous studies.
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In total, there were 2,878 cases of AA in patients with T2DM and 16,740 in the control group; and 200 cases of AD in the T2D group versus 2,019 in the control. The results indicate that individuals with T2DM have a 28% lower risk of AA and a 47% lower risk of AD compared to the control group. Sub-analyses for AA also indicated a 44% lower risk for thoracic AA, a 25 % risk reduction for abdominal AA, a 21 % lower risk for unspecified AA and unaltered risk reduction for thoraco-abdominal AA among individuals with T2DM compared to control subjects. Due to few cases of AD, it was not possible to perform the same sub-analysis for AD.
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The authors conclude: “Among patients with T2DM there were significantly decreased risks of AA and AD as well as decreased risk of mortality after an event of AA.” They also suggest that “glycated (sugar) cross-links, created by various mechanisms, in aortic tissue among T2DM patients may play a protective role in progression of aortic disease. More studies are needed to see exactly what is taking place here.”
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Blocking a receptor called DP1 to prevent niacin (vitamin B3) flushing may increase susceptibility to aneurysms. (2012) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
Niacin, or vitamin B3, is the one approved drug that elevates “good” cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, HDL) while depressing “bad” cholesterol (low density lipoprotein , LDL), and has thereby attracted much attention from patients and physicians. Niacin keeps fat from breaking down, and so obstructs the availability of LDL building blocks.
Patients often stop taking niacin because it causes uncomfortable facial flushing, an effect caused by the release of a fat called prostaglandin or (PG)D2. PGD2 is the primary cause of the unwanted vasodilation, the “niacin flush.” The dilation occurs when blood vessels widen from relaxed smooth muscle cells within vessel walls.
PGD2, formed by an enzyme called COX-2 and released by immune and skin cells, acts on a muscle cell-surface receptor called DP1 to cause the flushing.
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However, deletion of DP1 made mice somewhat more susceptible to hardening of the arteries, the formation of aneurysm, thrombosis, and in some cases, high blood pressure. The researchers suggest that these findings are reflective of DP1 expression in vascular and immune cells in mice, just as in humans, despite its absence on mouse platelet cells.
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Age, gender and body size are better predictors of aortic aneurysm than atherosclerosis and hypertension. (2003) www.eurekalert.org
From the article:
“Atherosclerotic plaques and the risk factors that cause them, including hypertension, classically have been considered important potential causes of the expansion of the aorta,” says Bijoy Khandheria, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and study author. “Intuitively, it makes sense that high blood pressure would stretch the vessel walls and make them more likely to become enlarged. This study shows that while these risk factors are highly important in a host of diseases and conditions, they are bit players when it comes to causing the dilatation of the aorta that can lead to aneurysm.”
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The study found that age, gender and body size together account for one-third or more of the cases of aortic dilatation, while atherosclerosis and related risk factors only explained 3 percent.
“There has been a tendency recently to refer to aneurysms as ‘athersclerotic aneurysms,’” explains Dr. Khandheria. “But the fact that plaques – even complex or severe ones – are very common, while aneurysms are rare, supports the conclusion that atherosclerosis and its risk factors are not likely to blame for aneurysms in the major blood vessels of the chest. Other factors and processes, including genetic diseases similar to Marfan syndrome, seem to be more important.
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The contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapy may protect against brain aneurysm. (2011) www.eurekalert.org
From the article:
Oestrogen helps maintain the structure of blood vessel walls by promoting the division of endothelial cells within the vessel walls, which is important for repair if the vessels become damaged. However, oestrogen levels drop significantly at the menopause.
Women have been shown to be more likely to develop a cerebral aneurysms after the age of 40 years, and aneurysms are most likely to rupture between the ages of 50 and 59 years.
The authors asked 60 women with cerebral aneurysms about their use of the oral contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapy, and this was compared with usage in 4,682 other women drawn from the general public.
Women with cerebral aneurysms were found to have been significantly less likely to have taken oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy. Women with cerebral aneurysms also had an earlier average age of menopause.
Previous studies have shown that use of the oral contraceptive pill protects against haemorrhagic stroke in later life, while women who start their periods early and/or do not have children are at greater risk.
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Early menopause may be linked to increased risk of brain aneurysm. (2012) www.eurekalert.org
From the article:
The average age at which women in both groups had started the menopause was similar, and analysis of the results showed that later menopause and use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) protected against the risk of a cerebral aneurysm, lessening the risk by 21% and 77%, respectively.
Premature menopause - before the age of 40 - had occurred in one in four (26%) of the women who had had an aneurysm compared with around one in five (19%) of those in the comparison group.
And each successive four year increase in the age at which a woman went through the menopause lessened the likelihood of a cerebral aneurysm by around 21%.
Smoking did not seem to be linked to an increase in risk, while alcohol consumption was of borderline significance.
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Estradiol protects male rats from aortic aneurysms. (2004) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
At this week’s American College of Surgeons meeting in New Orleans, Derek T. Woodrum, M.D., a U-M resident in general surgery, will present new research results showing that smooth muscle cells from aortas of male rats contain 2.5 times more destructive MMP-9 protein and 10 times the level of MMP-9 gene expression compared to the same cells from female rat aortas. Known to be involved in AAA [abdominal aortic aneurysms] formation, MMP-9 is a cell-digesting enzyme that eats away at the wall of the aorta, leaving it vulnerable to expansion and rupture.
However, when Woodrum treated male rats with estradiol, a form of the female hormone estrogen, and then tested their aortas, he found that MMP-9 activity was substantially decreased. At this year’s meeting, Woodrum will receive an American College of Surgeons “Excellence in Research Award” for his study.
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“Earlier studies have demonstrated that increased estrogen systemically inhibits the development of AAAs,” Upchurch says. “Dr. Woodrum’s study extends earlier research and suggests that there also is something inherent in males that increases MMP-9 and may lead to greater AAA formation.”
“Estrogen affects production of MMP-9 by white blood cells called macrophages,” Upchurch adds. “MMPs degrade collagen and elastin, two major proteins in the aortic wall.
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Dysregulated tryptophan metabolism contributes to abdominal aortic aneurysm formation in mice. (2017) www.eurekalert.org
From the article:
“Our data found a previously undescribed causative role for 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (3-HAA), a product of tryptophan metabolism, in abdominal aortic aneurysm formation,” said Dr. Ming-Hui Zou, director of the Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine at Georgia State and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Molecular Medicine. “We believe agents that alter tryptophan metabolism may have therapeutic potential for preventing or treating abdominal aortic aneurysm. Our findings suggest that reducing 3-HAA may be a new target for treating cardiovascular diseases.”
The kynurenine pathway is the major route for the metabolism of tryptophan, and other studies have found this pathway plays a key role in the increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease. The researchers sought to identify the role of the kynurenine pathway and its products in angiotensin II (AngII)-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm. AngII is a hormone that increases blood pressure by constricting the blood vessels and is the principal mediator for the development and progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm.
The researchers generated mice with genetic deficiencies by crossbreeding, and then infused the mice with AngII.
The study is the first to show that genetic deletion of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) or the decrease in the gene expression of kynureninase (KNU) in the body restrained AngII-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm in mice deficient in apolipoprotein e.
In addition, the researchers made the discovery that 3-HAA was responsible for AngII-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm in the body.
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Exercising, drinking coffee and having sex are triggers that raise rupture risks for brain aneurysm, retrospective study finds. (2011) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
Calculating population attributable risk – the fraction of subarachnoid hemorrhages that can be attributed to a particular trigger factor – the researchers identified the eight factors and their contribution to the risk as:
-Coffee consumption (10.6 percent)
-Vigorous physical exercise (7.9 percent)
-Nose blowing (5.4 percent)
-Sexual intercourse (4.3 percent)
-Straining to defecate (3.6 percent)
-Cola consumption (3.5 percent)
-Being startled (2.7 percent)
-Being angry (1.3 percent)
“All of the triggers induce a sudden and short increase in blood pressure, which seems a possible common cause for aneurysmal rupture,” said Monique H.M. Vlak, M.D., lead author of the study and a neurologist at the University Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Risk was higher shortly after drinking alcohol, but decreased quickly, researchers said.
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Although physical activity had triggering potential, researchers don’t advise refraining from it because it’s also an important factor in lowering risk of other cardiovascular diseases.
“Reducing caffeine consumption or treating constipated patients with unruptured IAs with laxatives may lower the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage,” Vlak said. “Whether prescribing antihypertensive drugs to patients with unruptured IAs is beneficial in terms of preventing aneurysmal rupture still needs to be further investigated.”
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Alcohol consumption increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as aortic aneurysms and reduces life expectancy. (2018) www.eurekalert.org
From the article:
The upper safe limit of drinking was about 5 drinks per week (100g of pure alcohol, 12.5 units or just over five pints of 4% ABV2 beer or five 175ml glasses of 13% ABV wine).
However, drinking above this limit was linked with lower life expectancy. For example, having 10 or more drinks per week was linked with 1-2 years shorter life expectancy1. Having 18 drinks or more per week was linked with 4-5 years shorter life expectancy.
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The researchers also looked at the association between alcohol consumption and different types of cardiovascular disease. Alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk of stroke, heart failure, fatal aortic aneurysms, fatal hypertensive disease and heart failure and there were no clear thresholds where drinking less did not have a benefit.
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Retirement may not provide relief from work-related hypertension, increasing the risk for diseases such as aneurysms. (2009) www.sciencedaily.com
Hypertension is diagnosed when blood pressure on the artery walls is consistently too high. This condition can eventually damage cells of the arteries' inner lining, leading to angina, heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, kidney failure and other serious health problems.
“People’s occupations during their working years can clearly be a risk for hypertension after they retire,” said senior study author Paul Leigh, a professor with the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research and the Department of Public Health Sciences at UC Davis. “The body seems to have built up a stress reaction that takes years to ramp down and may last well beyond age 75.”
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What they found with retirees was consistent with studies of those who are currently employed: higher-status occupations are associated with less hypertension than lower-status occupations.
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Unlike executives and professionals like architects and engineers, Leigh explained, workers in positions such as sales, administrative support, construction and food preparation have little control over decision-making, are under pressure to get a specified amount of work done in a certain amount of time and may feel inadequate about their positions in the workplace hierarchy. Consequently, their stress levels tend to be higher, which can lead to high blood pressure and, eventually, hypertension.
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Data from nearly 80,000 twin pairs suggest that brain aneurysm ruptures are more commonly caused by environmental factors than by genes. (2010) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
During the past few decades, the genetic makeup has been regarded as playing a significant role in the development of SAH [subarachnoid haemorrhage]. Contrary to this belief, however, a twin study recently published in the journal Stroke showed that environmental factors account for most of the susceptibility to develop SAH Conducted in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, the study is the largest population level twin study in the world.
This means that instead of screening the close family members of SAH patients, the focus of preventive treatment may now be increasingly shifted to the efficient management of hypertension and smoking cessation intervention. This is what we do with other cardiovascular diseases as well."
The Nordic study combined data on almost 80,000 pairs of twins over several decades. All in all, the follow-up time of all of the twin pairs corresponds to a staggering 6 million person-years.
The researchers nevertheless emphasize that there are rare cases of families among whose members SAH is significantly more common than in the overall population. In these cases genetic factors are the principal cause underlying the development of the disease.
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Hypertensive smoking women have up to 20-fold higher risk of brain aneurysm ruptures. (2013) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
- If smoking women with high systolic blood pressure values have 20 times higher rate of these brain bleeds than never-smoking men with low blood pressure values, it may very well be that these women diagnosed with unruptured intracranial aneurysms should be treated. On the other hand, never-smoking men with low blood pressure values and intracranial aneurysms may not need to be treated at all.
In this largest SAH risk factor study ever, the study group also identified three new risk factors for SAH: previous myocardial infarction, history of stroke in mother, and elevated cholesterol levels in men. The results revise the understanding of the epidemiology of SAH and indicate that the risk factors for SAH appear to be similar to those for other cardiovascular diseases.
- We have previously shown that lifestyle risk factors affect significantly the life expectancy of SAH survivors, and now we have shown that the same risk factors also affect dramatically the risk of SAH itself.
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Smokers may be nearly twice as likely to develop an abdominal aortic aneurysm. (2016) www.eurekalert.org
From the article:
The study found the lifetime risk of an abdominal aortic aneurysm were: 1 in 17 among all study participants; 1 in 9 among current smokers; 1 in 9 among those in the top third of smoking pack-years (number of cigarettes smoked over a lifetime), whether a current or former smoker; 1 in 12 among current female smokers.
Researchers also found those who had quit smoking for 3-8 years (recent quitters) still had an approximately 2.6 to 3.5 fold increased risk for both clinical and asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm in the next 15 years compared to never smokers. Their lifetime risk was 6.6 percent higher than long-term quitters.
For women, authors note the steep increase in risk is particularly concerning given the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that current or former male smokers undergo an ultrasound screening for an abdominal aortic aneurysm once between the ages of 65 and 75 but makes no such recommendation for women.
[…]
The study also found that being older, white, or having high levels of bad cholesterol also increased the risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm.
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Smoking raises risk of brain aneurysm recurrence after endovascular treatment. (2017) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
Former and current smokers had a recurrence rate of 26.3 percent, and accounted for 232 of the 296 aneurysms documented in this study. Never smokers, on the other hand, experienced a recurrence rate of 17.2 percent, accounting for the remaining 64 aneurysms. All subjects had undergone endovascular treatment.
[…]
“We already know that smoking increases the development, growth and risk of rupture of aneurysms,” says Thompson, the John E. McGillicuddy Collegiate Professor of Neurosurgery. “We didn’t know that after endovascular treatment the risk of recurrence of an aneurysm is as clearly related to smoking as we’ve shown in this study.”
Scientists still don’t know exactly why tobacco use leads to an initial aneurysm, but have established some theories. U-M researchers say smoking might affect how well an aneurysm is obliterated in the first place, or may impede the healing process.
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Carriers of a gene variant that increases the chance of brain aneurysm by 37-48%, fivefold their risk if they smoke. (2010) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
Researchers have confirmed three gene changes that raise the risk that a blood vessel in the brain will weaken and balloon out (aneurysm), creating a life-threatening chance of rupture. Smoking, the biggest risk factor for brain aneurysm, is five times more dangerous in people with these gene variations. However, a second study on the same population notes that most people with aneurysm die of cancer or heart problems.
[…]
In one study (Broderick, abstract 156), researchers found that the chance of an intracranial aneurysm increased between 37 percent and 48 percent for people who carried one copy of an identified risky gene variation. However, when the gene variant was combined with smoking the equivalent of one pack a day for 20 years, the risk increased more than five-fold. People with two copies of the gene variant were at even higher risk.
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Even after 5 years of abstinence, former heavy smokers have more than double the risk of a ruptured brain aneurysm. (2012) www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
After taking account of influential factors, such as salt intake, working hours, weight and family history of diabetes, smokers were almost three times as likely to have a brain bleed as non-smokers.
The impact of smoking was cumulative: the longer and more heavily a person had smoked, the greater was their risk of a brain bleed.
Quitting smoking cut the risk of a ruptured aneurysm by 59% after five or more years – bringing it down to the level of non-smokers. But this was not the case among heavy smokers.
Those who had smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day were still more than twice as likely to have a ruptured aneurysm as those who had never smoked. […]
In the short term, smoking thickens blood and drives up blood pressure, both of which can increase the risk of a brain bleed. These effects can be reversed by stopping smoking. But smoking also induces permanent changes in the structure of artery walls, say the authors. These changes may be greater in heavy smokers, they say.
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Insomnia, hypertension and smoking, but not high triglyceride levels, are considered possible risk factors for brain aneurysm rupture. www.sciencedaily.com
From the article:
Data from several genome-wide association studies were used to gauge genetic associations to lifestyle and cardiometabolic risk factors. […] According to the analysis:
-A genetic predisposition for insomnia was associated with a 24% increased risk for intracranial aneurysm and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
-The risk for intracranial aneurysm was about three times higher for smokers vs. non-smokers.
-The risk for intracranial aneurysm was almost three times higher for each 10 mm Hg increase in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number in a blood pressure reading).
-High triglyceride levels and high BMI did not demonstrate an increased risk for intracranial aneurysm and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
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Ciprofloxacin and other antibiotics that are known as fluoroquinolones may be associated with tendon rupture, tendonitis, and retinal detachment. Patients who received them had a higher risk for aneurysms than patients who did not receive the antibiotics.
Earlier this month the FDA added another update about the use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics to include mental health issues. The mental health side effects to be included in the labeling across all the fluoroquinolones are disturbances in attention, disorientation, agitation, nervousness, memory impairment and delirium.
The previous FDA update warning was about potentially permanent side effects involving tendons, muscles, joints, nerves and the central nervous system.
The FDA stated: “Because the risk of these serious side effects generally outweighs the benefits for patients with acute bacterial sinusitis, acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and uncomplicated urinary tract infections fluoroquinolones should be reserved for use in patients with these conditions who have no alternative treatment options.”
FDA link: https://www.fda.gov/