High blood triglyceride levels are a risk factor for someone who has had an atherothrombotic stroke, even if the person is on statin therapy.
To state this, a study of the Tokyo Women’s Medical University in Japan. The research is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “The good news is that statins are just a therapy for high triglycerides – diet and exercise can also be effective ways to lower blood levels at little or no cost,” he comments. Takao Hoshinolead author.
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The sample examined
The study looked at 870 people who had a stroke or transient ischemic attack. Their average age was 70. Of these, 217, or 25%, had elevated triglyceride levels, defined as fasting triglyceride levels equal to or greater than 150 milligrams per deciliter.
The researchers followed the participants a year later to find out if there was an association between high triglyceride levels and relapse with another stroke, acute coronary syndrome, which is any condition caused by a sudden reduction in blood flow to the heart. or death due to vascular causes. The researchers found that people who had high triglyceride levels had a 21% higher risk of death, stroke, or heart disease a year, compared to a 10% higher risk for those with lower levels.
Different types of strokes
Atherothrombotic stroke is caused by a clot that forms from plaques that build up inside blood vessels in the brain. Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood that may have a higher risk of having another stroke or other cardiovascular problems a year later than people who have had a stroke but have lower triglyceride levels.
When the researchers specifically looked at people who had another stroke after an atherothrombotic stroke, they found that 14 of 114 people with normal triglyceride levels, or 12%, had one during the study, compared with 33 of 217 people. , or 16%, of those with high levels. For acute coronary syndrome, one in 114 people, or 0.9%, with normal triglyceride levels developed the heart condition one year after an atherothrombotic stroke, compared with five in 60, or 8%, of those with high levels.
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The difference with cardioembolic stroke
Hoshino notes that the study did not find an association between higher triglyceride levels and future cardiovascular problems in people who have had a different type of stroke called a cardioembolic stroke. “Statin therapy is still an effective treatment for people with high triglyceride levels, but our study highlights how important it is to look at all the tools a person can use to lower their triglycerides, including diet changes, exercise and intake of omega-3 fatty acids “
One limitation of the study is that the researchers only considered the participants’ fasting triglyceride levels. The study does not prove that lowering elevated triglyceride levels will prevent people with atherothrombotic stroke from having cardiovascular problems later, but it only shows one association, the authors specify.
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