Reducing Risk Readers should be aware that the mortality rate from stroke has declined considerably in the recent decade. In fact, the stroke rates in the United States are among the lowest in the world. This would appear related to the development of treatment modalities for hypertension, probably the leading factor for stroke. Note should be made that the rates are higher in the elderly and in African-Americans.
Researchers are always on the look out for ways to protect the individual from risk of stroke.
The difficulty of these studies is that trying to isolate a single nutrient that may be effective is a difficult task. Many nutrients interact with each other at different levels of their metabolism, thus having positive and negative synergistic effects on a wide range of nutrients in the body, thus they may not be shown to have a causal relationship per se. However, there appears to be a plethora of studies that indicate that consumption of a diet rich in potassium, magnesium and fiber is protective against stroke mortality in man. The protective effects were seen particularly in hypertensive subjects, but were observed at all levels of blood pressure and remained significant after adjustment for blood pressure level. A high intake of fiber and potassium is the result of a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, associated with intake of many other nutrients, such as vitamins, which may also affect stroke risk.