Studies suggest that millions of Americans are at risk of having a stroke if they engage in strenuous exercise.
The researchers found that people with carotid artery stenosis, which is estimated to affect 5% of the population, were at risk of suddenly developing blood clots in the brain through simple activities such as brisk walking, swimming, or even Zumba. I discovered something.
During strenuous exercise, plaque in major arteries can break away and travel to the brain, where it can block blood vessels and cause a stroke.
This suggests that as many as 16.5 million Americans may want to refrain from exerting themselves during exercise.
Studies suggest strenuous exercise may increase risk of stroke (Stock)
Pictured above is a carotid artery with plaque (left) and a carotid artery without plaque (right). Everyone has his two carotid arteries running on either side of his neck (pictured)
Carotid stenosis is a condition in which plaque builds up in the carotid artery, narrowing the space through which blood can pass.
These arteries run through the neck and are responsible for carrying blood containing vital nutrients and oxygen to the brain and parts of the face.
A sudden increase in blood pressure, such as during exercise, can cause plaque to dislodge, which can lead to a stroke.
Statistics show that the number of Americans with carotid artery stenosis has skyrocketed over the past two decades.
In the early 2000s, it was estimated that about 2 million Americans had this condition. But now Cleveland Clinic About 5 percent of all adults, or 16.5 million people, say they have the disease.
Scientists say being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for the condition. A sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, and smoking also increase risk.
A study published in the journal this week fluid physicsscientists built a computer simulation of one of the carotid arteries.
They simulated three carotid arteries. One healthy artery, one “mildly” 30% blocked and one “severely” 50% blocked.
Each subject was then given an exercise-induced heart rate of 140 beats per minute (bpm). This heart rate can be achieved with activities such as brisk walking, cycling and Zumba, especially for obese people.
A resting heart rate of 67 and a moderate exercise rate of 100 bpm were also simulated.
Scientists have found that exercise improves health in healthy, mildly blocked carotid arteries.
However, for those with severe obstruction, the results were described as ‘concerning’.
Models showed that the area was stressed, increasing the risk of the stricture rupturing and releasing some of the plaque into the bloodstream.
This can then travel to the brain and block blood vessels in organs, cutting off oxygen supply and causing a stroke.
Dr. Somnath Roy, a mechanical engineer at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, just outside Kolkata, and the lead author of the study, said: “Strenuous exercise has been shown to have a negative impact on patients with moderate or higher levels of stenosis. ‘ said.
The shear stress in the stenotic zone increases significantly, which can lead to rupture of the stenosis.
“This ruptured plaque can flow into the brain and its blood supply, causing an ischemic stroke.”
“Stressful exercise may be beneficial in improving cardiac performance in healthy people, but for patients with extensive arterial occlusion, extensive physical activity may be involved,” the researchers wrote in their paper. Activity increases heart rate, which can have extremely detrimental consequences.”
The images above show the carotid artery under three different heart rates, a healthy person, and a carotid artery with 30 and 50 percent occlusion.This is based on your computer model
previous studies including analysis A study of stroke rates since 2010 found that the risk of stroke increased at least twice after exercise.
a meta-analysis A study of 13,000 strokes in Europe in 2021 also showed that acute anger, emotional agitation and vigorous physical exertion were associated with an increased risk of stroke.
The authors noted that all of these increased the heart rate and increased the risk of plaque sloughing off and causing a stroke.
Dr Andrew Smith, an epidemiologist at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and leader of the study, said today: “We believe that these triggering events can increase heart rate, raise blood pressure, and cause hormonal changes that alter blood flow in the blood vessels.”
“That said, not all anger, emotional turmoil and strenuous exercise cause stroke.
“Similarly, not everyone with high cardiovascular risk factors will have a stroke.”
The latest research has limitations, including that it is a model and may not accurately reflect how real-world events might play out.
Experts warned that the model also overestimated how fast blood traveled when the heart rate increased, which could affect the results.
