Stroke & High Blood Pressure: Know What Action You Need To Take To Prevent A Life-Threatening Stroke

If you've ever had a 'funny turn' in which you experienced temporary muscle weakness on one side, disturbed vision or slurred speech... then keep reading. There's a strong possibility that you may have suffered a mini-stroke, known as a 'transient ischaemic attack' (TIA).

The symptoms of a TIA are similar to those of a stroke, but the difference is that they pass within hours with no lasting effects. But this doesn't mean you can afford to ignore them. This is because once you've had a TIA, there is a one-in-four chance that you will suffer a full stroke within the next few years that could be fatal (Understanding Transient Ischaemic Attacks. Publ. Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, Jan 2002).

Fortunately there are ways to significantly lower your risk of suffering a TIA or a stroke, and following a low carbohydrate diet is an important part of this preventative programme.

Watch out for these tell-tale symptoms that indicate a TIA
A TIA is caused by a blockage in your brain's blood supply. This means that part of your brain is deprived of oxygen, which disrupts its function. When the blockage clears, the symptoms pass.

The blockage could be due to a build up of fatty 'plaque' that narrows a blood vessel and restricts its flow. Or it may be due to a blood clot that gets stuck in one of the small arteries in your brain. Often it's a combination of both these causes.

A TIA can cause a wide range of symptoms, but three, called 'focal neurological symptoms', nearly always occur. These are:

• weakness, numbness or clumsiness on one side of the body;
• loss of vision, or disturbed vision, in one or both eyes;
• slurred speech or difficulty in finding some words.

The main risk factors for TIAs are the same as those for strokes and heart attacks:
high blood pressure;

• high levels of 'bad' LDL cholesterol in the blood;
• platelet stickiness, which causes the blood to clot easily;
• high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that causes changes in artery walls.

If you think that you have had, or are having, a TIA, see your doctor as soon as possible to get a definite diagnosis. If your blood pressure is high, you will probably be given anti-hypertensive medication to reduce it. You may also be prescribed a 'statin' drug to reduce cholesterol levels and an anticoagulant to reduce the likelihood of a clot forming. However, these drugs can have nasty side effects, such as cold hands and feet, headaches, dizziness, fluid retention and 'heavy legs' (BMA New Guide to Medicines and Drugs. Dorling Kindersley, 2001).

While it's important that your doctor continues to keep a close eye on your condition, you can do a lot yourself to reduce your reliance on these drugs.

A low carb diet can lower your blood pressure, blood fat and cholesterol levels
Your main weapon against TIAs and the risk of suffering a stroke is to eat a low carbohydrate diet, such as the Atkins diet (Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution. Vermilion, 2003). You will lose weight effortlessly on the Atkins diet, and losing just 9lb may be enough to reduce blood pressure readings to normal (Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 63:423S-425S, 1996).

As already mentioned, high blood pressure is one of the leading risk factors linked to causing TIAs and strokes.

Don't worry about the amount of meat you eat on this diet. Eating meat used to be thought to cause high blood pressure, since vegetarians often have lower blood pressure than meat eaters, but in fact meat, eggs or fat have been found to have very little effect (Nutrition Reviews 47(10):291-300, 1989).

It is the amount of green vegetables and fruit you eat that have been found to make the real difference - as their high content of potassium, magnesium, vitamin C and fibre actively lowers blood pressure (Lancet 2:742-3, 1983).

A low carb diet is also an excellent way to reduce your level of 'bad' low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, because it makes your body break down fats to use as fuel so your blood fat level falls. This means less LDL and more HDL ('good' high-density lipoprotein) in your blood, since LDL is only produced when blood fat levels are high.

Researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital found that restricting patients to 26 grams of carbohydrates a day led to average falls of an astounding 85 per cent in blood fats and 40 per cent in cholesterol
(Am. J. Clin. Nutrition 19:84-98, 1966).

Make sure you're getting enough vitamin C to help keep your arteries clear
LDL only sticks to your artery walls if it is oxidised. Fortunately vitamin C can stop this process - it prevents your arteries from getting clogged up as well as increasing levels of artery-cleansing HDL (Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 60:100-5, 1994).

Vitamin C also reduces blood platelet clumping, the precursor to clot formation (Atherosclerosis 41:15-19, 1982). One recent study found that men with the lowest blood levels of vitamin C were two and a half times more likely to experience a stroke than those with the highest amounts (Stroke 33:1568, 2002). Take 1,000mg of vitamin C a day.

The essential fatty acids in oily fish are as effective in lowering blood pressure as beta-blocker drugs. Four ounces of mackerel or salmon, three times a week, can be enough to eliminate the need for medication (New England J. Med. 320(16): 1037-43, 1989).

Two essential fatty acids in fish oils, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), can also prevent blood platelets from clumping and dramatically lower blood fat levels (Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 65:1645(S)-54(S), 1997; Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 72:389-94, 2000). A good fish oil supplement is Eskimo 3 - take two capsules a day.

Like fish oils, magnesium can also bring down high blood pressure (Int. J. Cardiol. 56:177-83, 1996), prevent blood platelets from clumping (Thrombosis and Hemostasis 76:88-93, 1996) and help normalise cholesterol levels (Clin. Cardiol. 79:841-4, 1996). Take 500mg of magnesium a day, as magnesium citrate or amino acid chelate.