Men's health in the self-assessment of risk of stroke and coronary heart disease.

Who is prone to stroke?

High blood pressure patients. Whether systolic or diastolic blood pressure, if it's high enough, it can trigger a stroke.

Heart disease patients. People with myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, bacterial endocarditis, or valvular heart disease, or those who have undergone heart surgery or had an artificial pacemaker implanted, are prone to blood clots, leading to stroke.

Diabetic patients. They are prone to lipid metabolism disorders, which worsen atherosclerosis and increase the risk of high blood pressure—all risk factors for stroke.

People with high blood viscosity. Some diseases, such as polycythemia vera, cause an excessive number of red blood cells in the blood, making the blood viscous and increasing the risk of blood clots, leading to ischemic stroke.

Abusive drinkers. Long-term heavy drinking, with a daily alcohol intake exceeding 60 grams, can lead to stroke.

Smokers. It can cause cholesterol in the blood to combine with lipoproteins and deposit on the blood vessel walls, thereby accelerating the process of atherosclerosis and triggering stroke.

Patients with cerebral vascular malformations. If there are congenital malformations or defects in the blood vessel walls of the brain, they are highly susceptible to hemorrhagic stroke.

Those who consume excessively salty foods. This can cause damage and narrowing of cerebral arteries, leading to stroke.

Patients with habitual constipation. Dry stools and straining during bowel movements increase abdominal pressure, blood pressure, and intracranial pressure, making fragile small blood vessels prone to rupture and causing stroke.

Those deficient in magnesium. Magnesium in the body can delay platelet aggregation and has a certain anticoagulant effect. Magnesium deficiency weakens this effect, making cerebral thrombosis more likely.

Those who use medication improperly. Excessive use of antihypertensive drugs by hypertensive patients can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure and a sudden decrease in cerebral blood flow, easily leading to ischemic stroke. Some sedatives, such as diazepam and chlorpromazine, can also easily cause ischemic stroke if used in excessive doses.

How High is Your Risk of Coronary Heart Disease?

Coronary heart disease risk factors refer to factors that have been identified as contributing to coronary heart disease. Smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, a family history of early-onset coronary heart disease, and diabetes are major risk factors for coronary heart disease. Clinical epidemiological studies and large-scale clinical trials have proven that comprehensive interventions for various cardiovascular disease risk factors, including changing unhealthy lifestyle habits (such as quitting smoking and limiting alcohol consumption), adjusting dietary structure (such as low-salt, low-fat, and low-sugar diets), appropriate exercise, and drug treatment for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, can reduce the incidence and mortality of coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease by more than 50%. Therefore, it is entirely possible to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease by recognizing its risk factors and developing preventive measures. How can we assess the risk of coronary heart disease in different individuals? Please answer yes or no to the following questions:

Uncontrolled risk factors.

① Family history of heart disease.

② Have any close relatives, such as siblings, parents, or grandparents, had heart disease before the age of 65?

③ Male.

④ Age over 55 years.

Controllable risk factors. Major risk factors:

① Smoking.

② Hypercholesterolemia.

③ Blood pressure greater than or equal to 18.7/12 kPa (140/90 mmHg).

Minor risk factors:

① Overweight.

② Physical exercise <3 times/week.

③ Diabetes, symptoms of diabetes, or a family history of diabetes.

④ Tense personality or difficulty controlling emotions.

If you answer "yes" to only one of the above 11 questions, you are at low risk for coronary heart disease, with virtually no risk of developing it. Answering "yes" to 2-5 questions indicates moderate risk, 6-9 "yes" indicates high risk, and 10-11 "yes" indicates very high risk.

However, having a moderate risk of coronary heart disease does not mean that you will definitely get the disease; it simply means that you are more likely to develop coronary heart disease than people with low risk.