Lifestyle changes 'can help cut risk of stroke'

Lifestyle changes 'can help cut risk of stroke'

Making positive lifestyle changes and commitments can significantly reduce a person's risk of stroke, an expert has advised.

Cathy Ross, senior cardiac nurse at the British Health Foundation, said people who maintain a healthy body weight and shape are less likely to suffer heart problems.

She pointed to a balanced, low-fat diet and regular physical activity as being vital to cardiovascular health, insisting that it is never too late to make a lifestyle change.

"Any lifestyle interventions are likely to have an impact on the ten-year risk assessment performed by GPs," Ms Ross said.

"Everyone should be aware of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and take steps to adjust their lifestyle and reduce their risk."

Her comments came in the wake of recent research carried out at Ben Gurion University in Israel, which found that healthy long-term weight loss diets could reverse the damage done to arteries by being overweight.

Those participants who lost the most weight reduced the thickness of their arterial wall by up to five per cent, reducing their risk of future heart problems.