Study: 16.5M Americans at risk of stroke from aggressive exercise
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A new study suggests that millions of Americans are putting themselves at risk of stroke by aggressively working out.
The study in the journal Physics of Fluids suggests the exercise could dislodge plaque, causing the stroke.
So, who's at risk? The answer is about 16.5 million Americans that have plaque build-up in their carotid arteries in the neck.
Working out gets your blood pumping, and it does increase your blood pressure, a risk for people who have plaque building up in the two main arteries in their neck.
"In these patients, if you were to aggressively exercise, the theoretical knowledge suggests that the sharing forces of the blood flow, because the demand would be higher, can theoretically cause some of these plaques to break off and shoot off into the brain and cause a stroke," according to Allegheny Health Network neurologist Dr. Rahul Chandra.
But Chandra says risk factors are your best indicator of a potential issue.
"If you do have traditional underlying risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, you do have a higher risk of having plaque build-up. Tobacco abuse, smoking, may that be cigarettes or vape. Both of them do increase your risk of having plaque build-up."
Compared to the broad population, Dr. Chandra believes we're talking about a much smaller sample.
"A very small section of patients who already have a plaque build-up, suggesting that there could be an increased risk," Dr. Chandra added.
If you haven't had an incident and you are otherwise healthy, he says don't stop working out.
"We do continuously recommend exercising because that's going to prevent the plaque build-up to happen, to begin with. And that's what we ideally want."
Age isn't as much a factor as lifestyle and eating habits. And if you're looking for indicators that you have a problem, Dr. Chandra says to look for weakness on one side of your body.
If you feel numbness on one side, facial drooping, or slurred speech, you should get checked out.
How do they discover the plaque, and what can be done about it?
They can do a scan. If it's mild, treat it with medication, and if not, they can surgically go in and 'clean out your pipes,' but that's a last resort. And once cleared, get on a proper diet and safe exercise plan.