Can exercise prevent the chance of stroke?

Stroke ranks in as the 3rd leading cause of death in the US, killing about 500,000 Americans each year. It is thus that preventing strokes has become a national public health issue in recent years. Although doctors have long thought that a sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for a stroke, medical studies so far have had mixed results.

The latest study, which was released by researchers from the Cooper Institute in Dallas, followed nearly 17,000 men over 10 years. The men provided details on their cardiorespiratory exercise habits and their health records were studied. Over 10 years, 32 stroke-related deaths were recorded.

The results indicate that what the doctors have advocated all along was right- that exercise helps prevent stroke. The men who did low, moderate or high cardio-respiratory exercise had lower blood pressure levels and lower total cholesterol. It was also noted that among those who exercised, the prevalence of diabetes, obesity and cigarette smoking was lower. The levels of fitness were divided into 3 categories: low, moderate and high. The low-fit men were 65% more likely than the moderate-fit men, and 72% more likely than the high-fit men to suffer from a stroke.