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Manage stress

Being able to manage levels of stress can cut the risk of stroke, the Daily Mail reported. People who have a “good sense of coherence”, a measure of “how well a person adapts to stressful situations”, are less likely to suffer a stroke. Those with a relaxed approach to problems have a 24% lower risk of stroke, the newspaper reported. BBC News quoted the lead researcher as saying: "This evidence raises the possibility that improving our ability to respond to stress may have benefits for vascular health.” The research was based on data from a large study originally set up to look at diet and cancer, and offers some evidence of a link between an individual’s ability to adapt to an adverse event and the risk of stroke. It is not clear how this outcome relates to stress as we more commonly understand it, and the news reports may have overstated a link between ‘stress’ and stroke. More robust studies that take into account all possible reasons why people might be at greater risk of stroke are needed before the effects of stress on stroke risk are known.

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