When an international study linked frequent consumption of common beverages like pop, juice and coffee with increased stroke risk, the Heart and Stroke Foundation wasn’t surprised by the results. “That evidence has started to be out there, so it’s great to see these big studies that are validating some of that, or giving us more information related to that evidence,” said Patrice Lindsay, Heart & Stroke’s lead in engagement and stroke strategies. She was speaking about a , which tracked nearly 27,000 people from 27 countries.
It was conducted by researchers around the world, including from Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences. The Interstroke study results suggested that the chance of stroke increased for people who drank soda or fruit juice/drink once or more per day and for coffee drinkers who drank more than four cups per day. The study established a connection but not that those drinks cause stroke.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation says there’s already a lot of information available on stroke risk. To lower your risk of stroke, it’s important to start looking at your lifestyle and making changes when you’re young, Lindsay said. “People say ‘oh, I’ve got lots of time,’ but they don’t understand that starting early and being really thoughtful makes a huge difference,” she said.
“What we know now is that a lot of the risk factors — high blood pressure, irregular heart rate called atrial fibril.