Stroke risk factor
12 Nov 2008
Research in Denmark indicates that there may be an association between high triglyceride levels and an increased risk of stroke, and also that the way the levels are measured could change a basic medical practice. Data covering more than 30 years and 14,000 subjects show that people with triglycerides above 443 mg per decilitre of blood have a three- to four-fold higher risk of ischemic stroke than those with the lowest levels, according to the results — which appear in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The data were collected in non-fasting circumstances, which the researchers say are not only simpler for patients, and second, but are also better at defining people at higher risk of stroke and myocardial infarction.