Stroke and Inflammation

Reduce inflammation of the blood vessels to avoid Stroke

Stroke or Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is the loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply of the brain. This disturbance is due to either ischemia (lack of blood flow) or hemorrhage.

Ischemia is caused by either blockage of a blood vessel via thrombosis or arterial embolism or by cerebral hypoperfusion. As a result, the affected area of the brain cannot function normally, which might result in an inability to move one or more limbs on one side of the body, failure to understand or formulate speech or a vision impairment of one side of the visual field.

On the other hand, heart attack occurs when blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked, usually by a blood clot. Without oxygenated blood, the heart muscle begins to die.

New findings show that cholesterol is not the culprit behind narrowing of the arteries, the inflammation of the blood vessels is.

Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and stroke. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.

Thus, chronic inflammatory response is the underlying cause of heart attacks, strokes, peripheral vascular disease and aneurysm. This leads to build up of plaque. Artery begins to narrow. Nitrous oxide release is blocked causing platelet to adhere to plaque. The final event is the rupture of this plaque and the clot that form around the plaque cause acute and abrupt total closure of the artery, which block the blood flow to that part of the brain or heart causing stroke or heart attack respectively.

11 Key Ways To Reduce Your Risks For Stroke

Strokes don’t usually occur with warning and no one can foresee the exact time when a stroke will occur. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce your risk for stroke.

While you can’t change a genetic predisposition to stroke or your age, there are things you can change, including the following:

1. Quit smoking. Smoking is one of the major risk factors for having a stroke. Smoking increases the risk for stroke and, if you are a cigarette smoker, you need to quit. Smoking causes blood clots in the brain and can increase your chances of having a stroke.
2. Drink less alcohol. If you are a drinker, you need to drink moderately. That means drinking no more than 2 drinks per day (for men) and more than 1 drink per day (for women). It is not a good idea to drink even on weekends, even if you haven’t had anything to drink for the past week.
3. Consume less salt. Decrease your sodium intake to no more than 2,300 milligrams per day. If you are over the age of 51, you need to decrease your sodium intake by no more than 1500 milligrams per day.
4. Eat a healthy diet. You need to decrease your intake of cholesterol, total fat, and saturated fats. Unsaturated fats are okay to eat. You also need to eat less red meat and sugar. The mainstays of your diet should consist of nuts, seeds, beans, poultry, fish, whole grains, low fat dairy products, fat free dairy products, fruits, and vegetables.
5. Exercise can help reduce the risk of stroke by improving the stamina of the heart and by improving your circulatory system. Exercise boosts HDL cholesterol, which takes cholesterol back to the liver, reducing your stroke risk.
6. Control your high blood pressure. You can reduce your stroke risk by helping your doctor manage your high blood pressure. You can also lower your cholesterol by eating fruits, vegetables, and eating a diet low in salt. If you already have high blood pressure, you need to take the medications prescribed by your doctor.
7. Reduce high cholesterol. Elevated cholesterol levels can cause fatty plaques to build up on your arteries, reducing their flow and increasing the chance that you will have a stroke. Elevated cholesterol levels cause atherosclerosis, which involves a lack of blood flow to the brain. Try diet and exercise first; however, if these don’t work, you may need to take medications to control your high cholesterol levels.
8. Control atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a major cause of stroke and often causes bigger strokes when compared to strokes from other causes. You need to treat atrial fibrillation with medications that can prevent blood clots from forming on the inactive wall of the atrium, thus decreasing the risk of embolic strokes.
9. Diabetes can increase your risk of stroke four-fold. About 2/3 of patients with diabetes will eventually die of a heart attack or stroke. For those with type 1 diabetes, closely monitoring the blood sugar and insulin use will decrease your chances of having a stroke. Type 2 diabetics may need to take metformin and must exercise in order to reduce their risk of stroke.
10. Ride your bicycle 20 minutes per day. Researchers out of Germany studied a hundred men who had angina or mild chest pain. They had some of them exercise on a stationary bicycle, while others had an angioplasty. Those who had the angioplasty had a high risk of stroke, while those who rode a bicycle didn’t have a high risk of stroke. If you already have chest pain, you need to see your doctor before starting an exercise program.
11. Eat some dark chocolate several times per week. There have been many studies suggesting that eating dark chocolate can decrease the risk of stroke. It’s the flavonoids in dark chocolate that are responsible for reducing the risk of stroke because they keep the arteries flexible. Other things about dark chocolate that reduce the risk of stroke are that it reduces blood clotting and keeps LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) from clotting; making it less likely that you’ll have a stroke.

Oleia Softgel helps reduce inflammation of the blood vessels

OLEIA Softgel contains many different anti-inflammatory essential fatty acids (EPAs) that stops inflammation of the blood vessels, omega 3 eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) that helps keep blood platelets from clumping, thereby preventing formation of clots, lower blood pressure and protect arteries from build up of plaque by lowering triglyceride levels, and omega 9 which lowers cholesterol levels.

The brain is composed of 70% lipids. Approximately, 40% of these lipids are Docosahexanoic acid (DHA). DHA is the most abundant fatty acid in the brain. DHA plays a critical role in brain development and function as well as the growth and function of other nervous tissues. It functions in neurogenesis, neurotransmission and protection against oxidative stress. Oleia also contains DHA, an important component in the restoration of the affected part of the brain and it’s function in stroke patients.

Do not take coffee, tea, citrus drinks or eat orange, citrus fruits while taking Oleia Softgel as they may interfere with its efficacy and potency. Those who drink alcohol or smoke usually do not get satisfactory results.