A recent study revealed that half of the cases of strokes and heart attacks almost occur to people who do not suffer from any known risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure and cholesterol, or diabetes, which raises questions about the hidden causes behind them.
The study was conducted by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Brigham, USA, and the results of the study were presented in a scientific session at the European Society for Cardiology, and at the same time published in the European Heart Magazine on August 29, and the British Daily Mail was written about it.
The research team relied on data from the study of women who followed more than 12 thousand women over 3 decades, all of whom were at the beginning of the follow -up in good health and without known factors that increase the risk of heart disease.
The researchers continued a protein level known as HSCRP, an indication of the presence of inflammation in the body, throughout this period.
The surprise was that women who have had high levels of HSCRP faced much higher risk than others; The risk of coronary arteries increased by 77%, stroke by 39%, and major cardiovascular diseases by 52%.
These results indicate that inflammation, even in the absence of known risk factors, may play an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease, and the researchers say that this group of patients often pass without observation in routine tests, which makes them vulnerable to serious complications later.
Spirit saved medicine
A separate clinical trial showed that women who have this high indicator, despite the absence of traditional risk factors, can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by approximately 38% when using statin medications, which reduce the level of harmful cholesterol in the blood.
The researchers believe that the benefit is clearer when starting in middle -aged treatment, that is, at the beginning of the 1940s.
And the statistics are not new in the world of medicine; It permitted its use since the 1980s, and many studies have proven their ability to save lives and reduce deaths related to heart attacks and strokes. Current research opens the door to thinking about expanding the circle of benefit from it.
“While people with inflammation should take preventive steps to improve their lifestyle, such as proper nutrition and physical activity, the use of statin drugs may also help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes,” said Paul Ridker, the preventive cardiologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Heart and Vascular in the United States.
“Our data indicates that these women are at great life, and for this they must be identified early, in the 1940s, when they can start preventive care, instead of waiting until the seventies, where the time is often very late to achieve a real difference,” he added.
Experts indicated that chronic inflammation – which is often associated with obesity – may be a major factor behind these risks, as it is associated with other common diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and non -alcoholic fatty liver, in addition to some forms of dementia.