Women: Walk away your risk of stroke.

Women who walk at least three hours every week are less likely to suffer a stroke than women who walk less or not at all, according to new research from Spain.

Women who walked briskly for 210 minutes or more per week had a lower stroke risk than inactive women but also lower than those who cycled and did other higher-intensity workouts for a shorter amount of time.

The results for women who were regular walkers translated to a 43 percent reduction in stroke risk compared to the inactive group.

Each year in the U.S., about 795,000 people suffer a stroke, according to the American Heart Association. Put another way, one American has a stroke every 40 seconds and dies from one every four minutes.

Despite a recent dip in strokes attributed to better blood pressure control and anti-smoking campaigns, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that stroke cases will increase as the global population continues to grow older.

Guidelines set by the WHO and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend at least 150 minutes - or two-and-a-half hours - of moderate exercise such as brisk walking each week.

Source: Physical Activity and Risk of Cerebrovascular Disease in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition-Spain Study

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/44/1/111

Vitamin C and E supplementation is beneficial for oral contraceptive users.

Oral contraceptives may increase oxidative stress and increase cardiovascular risk in susceptible women. This study aimed to assess whether supplementation with vitamins E and C reduced this oral contraceptives effect. 120 healthy female individuals were divided into three groups: A, control; B, untreated oral contraceptives users; and C, treated oral contraceptives users with vitamin E (200 IU) and C (150 mg) supplementation for 4 weeks. In all cases, plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) level were determined. The results showed significant increases in the plasma MDA level, and activities of GPx and GR in plasma were decreased in Group B compared to the control group. Supplementation with vitamin C and E significantly increased the activity of GPx and GR activity, and reduced plasma MDA levels in Group C. The authors concludes "These data suggest that low-dose oral contraceptives, by enhancing the stress oxidative and lipid peroxidation, may represent a potential cardiovascular risk factor, and the use of vitamins E and C may be beneficial in ameliorating this side effect of oral contraceptives".

Note: while there are food sources of these important antioxidants, I suggest taking a daily multi-vitamin that provides at least 400 IU of vitamin E and 500 mg

vitamin C.

Zal F, Mostafavi-Pour Z, Amini F, Heidari A. Effect of vitamin E and C supplements on lipid peroxidation and GSH-dependent antioxidant enzyme status in the blood of women consuming oral contraceptives. Contraception. 2012 Jul;86(1):62-6.

Antidepressants Appear to Speed Aging of Major Blood Vessels

The earliest stages of blood vessel disease (atherosclerosis) is sometimes detected through observation of some changes in the arterial wall. One of them is the decrease in elasticity, which is related to a high risk of development of atherosclerosis. Another change is the intima-media thickening, which is a primary stage of atherosclerosis and may be used to monitor asymptomatic individuals.

Antidepressants may boost mood at the expense of accelerated atherosclerosis for middle-age men, according to an observational study of more than 500 twins who had served in the Vietnam War.

Antidepressant use appeared to "age" carotid arteries by the equivalent of four years of atherosclerotic plaque accumulation compared with nonuse.

These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. The study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. Still it gives pause to the widespread use of anti-depressants, considering the link between depression and heart disease.

Don't forget to exercise! Aside from all the heart protective benefits in the image above..it lifts the spirits!

Shah AJ, et al "Association of antidepressant medications with carotid intima media thickness in middle aged veteran twins" ACC 2011.

More Olive Oil in Diet Reduces Stroke Risk

Adding olive oil to your diet may reduce your risk of stroke, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that older people who used olive oil intensively -- meaning they regularly cooked with it and used it in salad dressing -- were 41 percent less likely to have a stroke than those who rarely consumed it.

Samieri C, et al "Olive oil consumption, plasma oleic acid, and stroke incidence: The Three-City Study" Neurology 2011 See the abstract here